


RWBY Star Wars: Prophecy

by dongyrn



Series: RWBY Star Wars [1]
Category: RWBY, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Aliit ori'shya tal'din, Collateral Damage, Corellians, Droids, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Galactic Republic, Jedi, Mandalorian, Mando'a, Multi, Old Republic Era, Republic Commando, SWTOR, SWTOR AU, Sith Empire, arkos, newspaper, smuggler, star wars: the old republic - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-24
Updated: 2017-11-04
Packaged: 2018-10-10 06:01:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 82,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10430715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dongyrn/pseuds/dongyrn
Summary: Ruby and Yang are smuggler sisters, just trying to make their way through a galaxy on edge. A tenuous peace still holds between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire, but plans are in motion that involve a dark prophecy. Even with help from some unusual and unexpected sources, including a couple of precocious droids, can these Corellian siblings find a way to survive? RWBY characters in a SWTOR AU setting.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **Standard Disclaimer:** All rights belong to those whose rights they belong to, primarily Rooster Teeth for RWBY and both BioWare and Lucasarts for SWTOR, though quite namely not me. Don’t own a thing.

_A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…_

RWBY Star Wars

EPISODE 4

PROPHECY

It is a time of uneasy peace.  
The SITH EMPIRE and the  
GALACTIC REPUBLIC  
stare at each other, uneasily, as  
agents from both sides make  
what small gains they can.

It is a time of high adventure  
but also deadly peril.

Far from the front lines on the  
Imperial Capital of DROMUND KAAS,  
Sith Lords gather to discuss a  
prophecy, one which might  
turn the tide of this detestable  
peace and grant tremendous  
power to those ambitious enough  
to seize it.

All this matters little to those who  
merely try to get by, whether  
by guile, skill, or perhaps a little  
dishonest trade.

* * *

 **Chapter 01**  
**Approaching Tatooine  
** _**Ember Celica** _ **Bridge**

"Are you farking kidding me right now?" Yang bellowed as she frantically twisted the controls. It was fortunate she was securely belted into the pilot's seat of the small tramp freighter, else she might have been tossed against the viewport with her insane maneuvering. The black and white astromech droid situated behind gave her an accusatory warble. His own straps were fastened quite a bit more tenuously.

"Sorry, buddy, just hang tight!" The blonde let out an irritable huff, cricking her neck to the side before examining the display at her elbow. "Sithspit, we've only got ten percent left on our rear shields…" The freighter shuddered slightly, causing the woman's voice to drop into a growl. " _Annnd_ five percent."

ZW-31 tweeted a warning, his head spinning around urgently.

"I know, Zwei, I know! These autoturrents are junk, they're not doing a thing to those fighters!" Yang slammed her fist on a console button before twisting the controls once more. "Ruby! The kark are you doing back there, we're gonna start losing parts off of the ship soon!"

 _**Ember Celica** _ **Engine Room**

An undersized tan-colored astromech droid with black highlights teetered nervously at the edge of the open bay in the middle of the aft mechanical area. P3-NY was ready to help her master in any way possible, even if she couldn't fit herself down next to where the diminutive brunette crouched.

Ruby let out a sigh as she pushed her sweat-matted red-tipped bangs out of her face. "I'm workin' on it, Yang!" she hollered back, adjusting the sleeves of her black jumpsuit that were tied around her waist. "Penny, sweetie, don't stand so close to the edge, okay?"

P3-NY gave a short affirmative tweet as she shuffled back a bit, not far enough that her master was out of sight but hopefully no longer in the way.

"Ahhh, vape, that's no good," the brunette mechanic finally groaned, pulling the neck of her red tank top up to mop the sweat off of her brow. "Main coupler is about done for, and the backup is already cracked... "

Her droid nervously informed her master of their chances of survival with such impending catastrophic failures, but the girl just laughed her off.

"I'm a Corellian, sweetie, never tell me the odds! Now, let's try rerouting this to here…"

 _**Ember Celica** _ **Bridge**

Yang grinned tightly as the indicator for the rear shields slowly crept upwards. "Ha, knew she could do it!" she crowed, thumping her artificial right fist against the armrest of her seat.

ZW-31 let out a derisive electronic snort.

"I did so, I gots complete faith in my little sis!"

Another low tweet, unconvinced.

"When have I ever said otherwise?"

At that, the black-skinned droid began a rather lengthy and detailed rendition, all delivered in tweets and warbles.

"Know what, Zwei? Nobody likes a smartass." Yang bit back a curse as another pair of sleek, silvery fighters shot by overhead. "Now, if you're done picking on your creator, do me a favor and find that cruiser for me… The vaping Empire doesn't have an outpost on Tatooine, those short-range fighters have to have come from somewhere!"

The blonde pilot frowned as she tapped a few keys on the console to even out the shields as best as possible, trying to get closer to the nearby planet that the fighters seemed bound and determined to keep her away from.

"This was supposed to be an easy job," she muttered, lilac eyes scanning the readouts. "Why does it never go easy?"

She and her sister had been at this business for a while, smuggling a variety of merchandise for more or less shady clientele across the demarcated borders between the Republic and the Sith Empire. And things had been good during that time, at least, until their last contract. On a job for a petty kingpin out of Nar Shaddaa, the densely-populated moon orbiting Hutta, they'd been intercepted by a rival crew and had their cargo stolen, only barely escaping with their lives and ship intact. This particular run was supposed to get them back on track, make them straight with the previous client as well as give them a little extra padding in their bottomed-out credit accounts.

What they weren't expecting, however, was the flight of Sith Empire fighters waiting for them to drop out of hyperspace right outside of their destination.

"Thirty kriffing parsecs to deliver this cargo," Yang grumbled. "Why would these Hutt-spawn care, anyways?"

She glanced aside at the electronic squawk issued from ZW-31. "You found 'em? Great, where?"

At her droid's mournful moan, she directed her gaze back out the forward portal.

"Oh. There."

 _**Ember Celica** _ **Engine Room**

"Okay, Penny! D'ya see the big hydrospanner to the left of you?"

The little droid swiveled around, finally pausing by a cluster of tools. Most of them were shoddy or even broken, but a few were still serviceable. She stretched out her gripping arm and pulled up the tool her master had asked for, quickly zipping back over to the open bay.

"Perfect!" Ruby cheered, popping her sweat-soaked and grease-stained head up long enough to grab hold of the hydrospanner and duck back down once more. "Awesome job, sweetie!"

P3-NY gave a happy little warble as she rocked back and forth on her front legs. Her bright green sensor lights focused on a readout panel nearby, causing her optimism to quickly drop with a low tweetle.

"Don't you worry about that, Penny, I can keep us- Sithspit!" There was a bright flash, sparks arcing overhead, followed by the muffled _thump_ of a body falling backwards. "Okay, so that one's good now, I just… Oh, frizz, no. Just… Penny, open a line to the bridge!"

Obediently, P3-NY wheeled herself over to the side, poking at the appropriate button with her gripping tool and giving an affirmative tweet.

"Yang!" the brunette called out. "I can't keep the forward shields going anymore, can we even out the others some?"

"No point, Rubes," her sister came back, voice laden with resolve. "Sith cruiser just popped up ahead of us, we gotta get past it to the planet."

"A cruiser?" Ruby yelped, popping back up again. Her silver eyes were wide and worried. "Shouldn't we be running?"

"Nah, I got this, we can get by."

"Yang, no, let's-" The brunette mechanic broke off as the freighter took several shuddering hits. Her worried gaze traveled over to the shield display. "That was our forward shields."

"Umm… Yup."

"Yang, I can't transfer any more to the forward shields."

"Yeah, gathered that as well."

"Please tell me we're running."

"Nope, almost through, just gotta… Oh. Well, shavit."

Ruby leaned forward and banged her forehead against the rim of the bay. "What?" she prompted neutrally.

"Well, we're past the cruiser, but it just launched another flight of fighters."

"Vape, right, okay…" Ruby ducked back down, frantically pulling wires from a panel. "Maybe I can splice in from the secondaries…"

P3-NY gave a startled squawk as the deck tilted abruptly, the entire frame of the ship vibrating before giving a lurch.

"Okay, so, now we just lost both autoturrets," Yang reported with far less concern than should have been evident.

"Ugh, fine!" Ruby pulled herself out from the bay, scampering across the deck to open a now-smoking panel. "Are they completely trashed?"

"Just the dorsal turret, the ventral one lost power."

"Right, I can work with that," the brunette muttered, tongue poking out from between her teeth as she ripped wires aside. "Should be able to run a bypass and then get into the ducts…"

The ship shuddered once more with an audible _bang_ , dropping Ruby onto her backside. "Shavit, Yang!"

"Yeah, shields under ten percent all around, but that last one just got our sublights and thrusters. Rubes, we're pointed straight at Tatooine…"

"Gah!" Ruby leapt up from her prone position and scrambled towards the rear of the room. "Okay, can I assume you're cool with that being our priority?"

"Yeah, I think that's a safe bet," her sister returned dryly.

"We gonna be able to land still if I give you thrusters?" the brunette called out over her shoulder from where she was digging under the grating. P3-NY worriedly remained at her master's side, gripping tool extended to catch her in case she toppled forward.

 _**Ember Celica** _ **Bridge**

"Oh, we'll land alright," Yang assured her sister over the intercom. "In how many pieces, well, that's still up for debate."

ZW-31 gave her a sharp beep in rebuke.

"Oh, come on, it was funny. If you can't laugh in this kinda situation, what can ya do?"

Her droid offered a rather differing opinion on her coping mechanisms.

The woman shook her blonde mane over her shoulder, chuckling mildly. "I shoulda programmed in a better sense of humor."

At this point, she couldn't even maneuver. The prow of her beloved, though dilapidated, freighter was pointed straight at the ball of sand ahead of them, and it was looming ever closer. Yang jumped slightly as a trio of fighters flashed past, heralding another sharp _bang_ of impact as more of her ship was torn apart.

"Oh, now, that's just adding insult to injury, don'tcha think?"

Lights on her console began to sputter, blinking back and forth between amber and green before settling, half signifying power while the other half remained grimly dead.

"Ruby, I've got maneuvering thrusters, how about the mains?"

It took a few seconds for the answer to come back across the comms, and when it did, her little sister sounded strained and out of breath. "Yang, that's the best I can give you, the lines are completely fried, aux power conduit just dropped off of our rear, and I think the hyperdrive actually got vaporized."

"Vaporized?"

"Well, there's nothing there anymore where there should be one big-kriffing hyperdrive, just a few thrust vector plates. I can't even give you sublights, the power feed manifold _completely_ sheared off and the hydraulic lines are just _gone_ and-"

"Ruby!"

"...Yeah, Yang?"

"So what I got is what I got, yeah?"

" _Preeetty_ much, yep. Um… Me an' Penny are gonna go tie ourselves down. I'd really appreciate it if we didn't all end up crispified, okay?"

The blonde let out a humorous snort as her grip tightened around the yoke. "Yeah, I'll keep it in mind."

"Yang?"

"Yeah?"

"Love you."

She smiled softly, glancing at the pictogram wedged into the space between the main sensor panel and the starboard viewport. On it were the two sisters, maybe a decade younger and laughing gaily as they were hoisted aloft by a burly blond man and a grinning redheaded woman with shining silver eyes. "Yeah," she murmured. "Love you too, Rubes. Don't worry, I'll get us down in one piece."

Yang tapped the comm unit off, ignoring the new alarms that were clamoring for her attention as she adjusted her harness. "Okay, Zwei, let's not make me a big fat liar, huh? You ready for this?"

ZW-31 tweedled his concurrence, advising that they would hit the atmosphere of Tatooine within thirty-three seconds and the surface of the planet twenty-eight seconds after that, barring any deviations in their course.

"Alright," the blonde pilot murmured, her gaze flickering to the side to note that the fighters had finally broken off their attacks. "We can do this… just hold together baby," she pleaded with her broken and dying ship.

"Hold together, please, please hold together…"

 **Dromund Kaas  
** **Sith Empire Capital**

The hallowed halls of the Imperial Citadel were used to many types of footsteps. Some sharp and fierce, others loud and clomping. Many others fearful and skittish.

The figure currently making her way down the hallway towards a northern antechamber made absolutely no sound at all.

The Rattataki woman, bone-white skin visible beneath her dark cowl, appeared to glide across the marbled flooring, the pooled black robes seemingly drifting on their own accord. Several servants and even lower Sith functionaries backed away from the Dark Lord, bowing respectfully.

Anyone who had the ear of the Emperor himself wielded tremendous power, particularly in the heart of the Imperial Capital.

As the figure approached her destination, the doors opened on their own accord, swinging back on hinges as silent as her passage. Inside, three more Sith Lords of lesser rank awaited her pleasure, immediately dropping to one knee in obsequience as the doors sealed shut once more.

"Lady Salem," the lean, pale-skinned Zabrak male intoned with barely-suppressed mirth, peering up through the matted black hair hanging down past his horn-studded forehead. His black robes swirled around him restlessly as if reflecting the chaos residing within the Sith. "How was your… audience?"

"Well enough, Lord Tyrian," the Rattataki woman replied mildly as she slid past the trio. "Please rise, all of you. I have work for you all."

The figures on either side of the Zabrak rose along with him. The one on the right, a massive, towering figure with blood-red skin and heavy black armor beneath his robes, grunted softly. "What would you have of us, My Lady?" the Sith Pureblood asked in a bass rumble.

"Events are in motion," she replied archly as she sat on her throne at the end of her audience chamber. "And if we act quickly, we may reap the rewards. But first, we must tie up loose ends, eliminate any other distractions. Lord Tyrian, I would like for you to travel to Taris and meet with your usual contact. Make sure we have all the intelligence we require." The woman pulled the hood of her robe back, revealing a shining white pate crisscrossed with black veins. "Once you are certain… eliminate him."

The Zabrak giggled softly, rubbing his hands together in excitement. "Oh, yes, yes, it will be done, My Lady!"

Salem gave Tyrian a nod to excuse him. As he scampered out the door with a gleeful skip to his step, she turned to the towering Sith Pureblood next. "Lord Hazel. Kindly travel to Nar Shaddaa and liaise with a certain gang there. They show promise, and I might have a use for them in the near future. Ensure that they are secure in their dominance within that quadrant of the city." She smirked darkly. "If you have to step on a few Hutt tails, so be it."

"With pleasure, My Lady," Hazel rumbled.

"I shall transmit the details while you are en route," she added with a wave of dismissal. Once the Sith Warrior had departed, she turned to the last figure remaining. Raven-colored hair matched her dark robes and served all the better to highlight glowing amber orbs that blazed with an unquenchable hunger. This young Human woman was her own apprentice at one time and would forever be one of her favorite servants.

"Lady Cinder," she purred. "I have a very special task for you." Salem reclined in her throne, one black-nailed finger tapping on the armrest. "Tell me, have you heard of the Prophecy of the Last Silver-Eyed Warrior?"

The woman before her tilted her head to the side slightly. "I have not, My Lady," she murmured, her voice silky-smooth. "Was this the subject of your recent meeting with the Emperor?"

"It was indeed," the Sith Lord smiled gently. "It is a bit of a misnomer, really. The actual catalyst, from what we have deciphered from the ancient texts, concerns the daughter of this Silver-Eyed Warrior. In any case, she is said to have inherited tremendous power…" Bright red irises glowed brighter within black sclera. "And that she would bring about chaos and change within the Empire at this approximate point in time."

"I see." Cinder tilted her head to the other side consideringly. "I would imagine the Emperor would seek to have this girl destroyed before she would become a threat."

"You would imagine correctly." Salem sat, unmoving, as she waited for her brightest pupil to reach the correct conclusion.

It only took another second for a slow, predatory grin to creep across the Human woman's face. "But you would much rather take this power for your own, would you not?"

"Ahhh, Cinder," she sighed in delight. "You never disappoint me. Yes, precisely, and to that end, I would have you begin the hunt before anyone else might come into play. I have but a cursory description, but at least we know the most distinguishing feature of this girl."

"The silver eyes," Cinder breathed.

"Correct." Salem gave the other woman a quick nod. "Be on your way, now, Lady Cinder, and hunt for this girl. Bring her before me at my base away from the Imperial Capital and we shall all share in this power."

"It will be done, My Lady." The raven-haired woman gave a low bow before spinning on her heel and striding through the doors with a loud clacking of high-heeled boots.

As Cinder passed into the hallway, two more Sith fell into step behind her. The Twi'lek woman on the right, mint-green skin flushed with excitement as she picked up on her master's own glee, seemingly bounced along with her black robes swirling around her. On the other side, a Human male with silver hair regarded both his fellow apprentice and his master with bored, unconcerned eyes, though he did restlessly adjust the black armor beneath his robes and the lightsaber at his belt.

"Mercury, Emerald," the Sith Lord murmured with no small amount of satisfaction. "The game is afoot."

* * *

 _Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance):_  
**Yang Xiao Long** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, talented pilot, and droid tinkerer.  
**ZW-31** \- Yang's custom astromech droid.  
**Ruby Rose** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, skilled mechanic, and gun nut.  
**P3-NY** \- Ruby's astromech droid.  
**Lady Salem** \- Rattataki female. Sith Lord and advisor to the Emperor.  
**Lady Cinder Fall** \- Human female. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
**Darth Hazel** \- Sith Pureblood male. Sith Lord Warrior.  
**Darth Tyrian** \- Zabrak male. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
**Emerald Sustrai** \- Twi'lek female. Sith Marauder.  
**Mercury Black** \- Human male. Sith Warrior.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** So, here we go, my latest offering! Now, purists will note soon enough that I'm only loosely basing this off of the _Star Wars: The Old Republic game_ ; in fact, I'm just using the setting before much of the events from the MMO itself, and none of the characters from the game will be incorporated. We've got some RWBY players introduced, but we have a lot more to go. I'll update the following list every chapter, just so we keep things straight.
> 
> Quick shout-out to those who have helped look this story over and provided both helpful insight and wonderful encouragement. From my usual talented stable of Betas, **KellyConnely** and **CaliopeGrant** , to my oftentimes Collaborator and Co-Author, **Silvana_Crowe** , as well as the fabulous authors **kaiju62** and **AYangThang** , bountiful thanks and much love for participating in this newest venture!
> 
> Until next time, stay shiny!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 02  
** **Tatooine**

Yang really, really hated the sand.

She hated how it just seemed to get _everywhere_ , in every crevice and nook and cranny, but more than anything she hated the dry heat that came with the sand and what it did to her luxurious mane of golden hair.

The smuggler blew out an irritable huff of air at the limp blonde strands that hung down in front of her face.

"Who would even kriffing _live_ in a place like this?" she wondered idly.

Standing guard loyally at her side, ZW-31 beeped a short opinion of the mental facilities of such organics.

"Right there with ya, buddy," Yang sighed. She shrugged off her long, brown leather duster to drape it across her shoulder. Clad now in only an orange tanktop and tan cargoes, along with the common spacer workboots favored by smugglers across the galaxy, the sunlight from the dirty windows of the salvage shop reflected off of the dull surface of her artificial right arm.

"Oh, hey!" her sister called out from the depths of the assorted junk and piles of scrap metal. "They have a catalyzer here!"

"Do we need one?" Yang asked patiently.

"Well, no… But they're really hard to find, y'know?"

She snickered softly while shaking her head. Some things never did change. "If we don't need it, then no, Rubes. Besides, we don't have much credits, remember?"

"Yeah, I know…" Her sister came into sight, clad as always in her worn black coveralls, unzipped and with the sleeves tied at her waist, along with a rather stained and tattered red tanktop. Like Yang, though, she was armed, her highly customized blaster riding low in a holster on her right hip.

Following close on her heels like an overeager puppy was Ruby's repair droid, P3-NY. The tan droid was quietly warbling with excitement, her bright green sensor lights peering around at all the interesting items in the shop.

"I can't believe we lost the entire cargo," Ruby finally grumbled as she came to a stop and scuffed the toe of her boot on the dirty floor.

"Well, yeah, they don't package Corellian whiskey like they used to."

"Cargo hold stinks now."

"That's just 'cause you don't like the smell of whiskey."

"I don't like the smell of _any_ kinda alcohol!" Ruby protested, wrinkling up her nose.

Yang laughed, ruffling her sister's red-tipped hair affectionately. "Yeah, I know. We'll get it cleaned out if this guy comes through."

"You know he won't," the brunette mechanic stated with solemn certainty.

"Have a lil' faith, sis!" the other girl replied cheerfully. "I ain't even turned the charm on, yet!"

"Yang, he's a Neimoidian. Charm won't do frizz on him."

Before she could offer a retort, the shopkeeper in question came back into the store from his office. He clutched a handheld device up to his flattened green face, red orbs flitting across the screen. "Yes, yes," he murmured distractedly. "I can find what you need, certainly, certainly… It will be a bit pricey, though."

"Right, well, we knew that," Yang stated with a brilliant smile. She flicked her hair out to the side, refusing to let its limp and lifeless condition deter her. "So how much?"

When he told her, even P3-NY let out an indignant squawk.

"That's… not even _close_ to a fair deal," the blonde growled, dropping all pretense of geniality once confronted by such a ridiculous estimate.

The Neimoidian shrugged his narrow shoulders guilelessly. "We're on Tatooine, my friends. Parts are hard to come by, yes indeed."

"Sithspit," Ruby scoffed. "You get wrecks around here all the time, and I know the Jawas bring in loads of parts."

"Yes, yes, that might be true, but for these particular items you have requested to get your ship functional again?" He spread his arms out wide. "That is an entirely different matter."

Yang sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose with cold metal fingers. "Right, fine. So…" She really did not want to take this route; in fact, it was causing actual physical pain in her chest to even consider this as a path forward. But, while her sister was usually the optimist of their little team, she tried to remain the pragmatist when it came to the long-run.

And she just didn't see any way past it now.

"How much for the ship as… scrap?"

She heard Ruby give a soft, sympathetic sigh. The brunette wasn't as attached to the old rust bucket as she was, but she knew just how much it cost for Yang to even bring it up.

_If we can get a decent payout, maybe, I dunno, sign on with another crew, save up… Maybe be able to buy another ship in… Oh, kark it all, a decade or so?_

They'd known it might come to this, and as such already had their bags packed with what meager possessions they actually had aboard. Some pics, a number of serviceable items including Ruby's carefully-maintained set of weapon customization tools (which, incidentally, worked just fine on maintaining her prosthetic arm as well, much to Ruby's continual indignation), and a few changes of clothes.

Not much to show for their lives, but they'd left most of that behind forever on Corellia.

"Well, let me see now… Old _Dynamic_ -class freighter, haven't seen one of those since the Jedi Civil war…" The shopkeeper pursed his thin lips in contemplation as he typed a few numbers into his handheld.

"Yeah, I know, she's old," Yang retorted defensively. "But the parts on there are still good, yeah?"

The Neimoidian gave a grunt in response. "Sublights?"

"Um, half are intact," Ruby replied apologetically. "The rest don't really work."

"Hyperdrive?"

The brunette chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck. "Uhhh… not so much, no."

He grunted once more before giving a nod. "Very well, I can give you… this much."

He turned the handheld around for the two girls to view.

Nobody made a sound.

Until that is, a low, feral growl began to rumble in the base of Yang's throat. "You cheating little Hutt-spawn…"

"Yang," her younger sibling warned, placing a restraining hand on the blonde's arm. She then turned to the smug-looking shopkeeper with an impish grin. "Oh, hey, meant to ask you about the speeder bike in the rear. Looks pretty sweet, can't imagine you own it, though."

"No, indeed," he replied, puffing his chest out with pride. "It belongs to a big-time gangster here in the employ of Drakka the Hutt himself! Rondgan is a bit of a racing enthusiast, you see, and he entrusts his speeder to me for maintenance and repairs!"

"Wow, pretty big deal," Ruby nodded sagely. "I guess there's a race coming up soon, then?"

"That's right, the day after tomorrow!"

"Good, good… so, then, tell ya what." The diminutive brunette mechanic crossed her arms and leaned against the nearby counter, her grin morphing into a smirk. "We'll give you both our ship and the ignition codes I changed on that speeder for twice what you just offered us."

"I… You… What?" the Neimoidian sputtered after a few seconds of shocked silence.

Yang, though, wore a smirk to match her sister's. "You heard the girl. I wouldn't try to hack it on your own, though, were I you."

Ruby nodded with a small giggle. "Yeah, pretty proud of the job I did there, two wrong guesses in a row will completely fry the ignition." She shrugged guilelessly. "You could even bill it to that Rondgan guy as a security upgrade."

Eventually, of course, the salvage shop owner conceded to the new terms, even if he did have a pained expression on his face as he transferred the credits over to their rather paltry account. Ruby made sure to painstakingly show him the ignition codes, watching as he input them and successfully started up the motor.

The pair of smugglers set out across the sand from the settlement towards the crash site of the _Ember Celica_ , walking slowly enough for their wheeled droids to keep up with them.

"That was nicely done, sis," Yang eventually commented warmly.

"Thanks, Yang!"

"Think we shoulda told him our ship's ignition sequence is rigged the same way?"

"Eh," Ruby shrugged unconcernedly. "He'll figure it out soon enough."

"Yeah, I'm sure…"

They walked for a few more meters before Ruby spoke up again.

"It's not enough, is it?"

"...No, it's not."

"So what are we gonna do, then?"

Yang gazed up at the searing yellow orb overhead, soon to be joined by its twin blue one. She shaded her eyes with her hand, searching for answers in the sky that she knew were not forthcoming.

"Let's just get our gear and catch a ride to Mos Eisley, okay? We'll figure something out there."

The brunette nodded slowly, trust shining in her silver eyes. "Okay, Yang."

It took them another fifteen minutes before the misshapen metallic lump of metal was visible behind a sand dune. They had to stop once to lift out a very indignant P3-NY who'd gotten stuck in a particularly soft spot of sand. The diminutive droid trudged determinedly in their wake still, ZW-31 offering warbles of encouragement.

Rounding the dune, they came across the already half-concealed airlock, requiring another five minutes to clear the area so that they might enter.

"Whew," Ruby exclaimed, blowing out a huff of air as she shook the sand from her clothes and boots. "I'll be happy as all shavit to get off this planet."

"Well, might take awhile, Rubes," her sister cautioned, upending her boot with a grimace as a steady stream of sand poured out. "We'll figure out what our options are once we get to… Um, what's wrong?"

The brunette mechanic was frozen halfway into the cargohold, her hands held away from her sides in a decidedly non-threatening manner.

"Yang," she squeaked. "You better come out here."

"Fine, yeah, I'm here, what-" The blonde smuggler came to a halt at the sight of the armored figure lounging at the crew table, bolted to the deck at the edge of the hold and serving as a common area. Their boots were up on the surface as they reclined indolently in one of the durasteel chairs in the shadows, the faint glow from the Y-shaped visor regarding them steadily.

And with a blaster aimed squarely at Ruby's midsection.

"Guns on the floor, please," an electronically filtered voice demanded mildly. Yang wasn't quite sure on the gender or race of the individual, but by the pitch, it sounded female. As she unholstered her heavy-duty blaster pistol, gently laying on the deck alongside Ruby's, the figure stood up, gesturing with her weapon towards the rear wall. Once they moved forward as well, their armor became more distinctive, white with pale blue trim.

"So, bounty hunter, huh?" Yang asked conversationally. "Don't suppose we could offer more to let us go?" Her eyes were carefully not on her astromech droid, hoping to give him an opportunity with the concealed weapon she'd installed a year or two back.

" _K'uur_ ," the figure replied shortly, kicking the discarded blasters to the side. "Up against the bulkhead, arms behind you."

With a sigh, the pair of smugglers complied once more. This time, Yang risked a glance aside towards the airlock. Their droids, however, were immobilized by what looked to be restraining bolts, evidently applied by the second armored figure in scarlet red and gold, taller than the first and with a blaster carbine trained on them.

"Sithspit," she muttered dejectedly, feeling the magcuffs binding her arms behind her. "Hey, if you're gonna play rough, at least buy me dinner, huh?"

The only reaction that garnered was an amused-sounding snort from the red-armored figure. On closer inspection, Yang could be fairly certain that one was a female by the curves of their armor.

Glancing the other way, she was confronted by a worried, frightened pair of silver orbs.

"It'll be okay, Rubes," the blonde tried to reassure her sister. "We've been in worse scrapes before, yeah?"

"Right," Ruby whispered back, her voice wavering slightly. She swallowed and blinked her expressive eyes. "Just… don't leave me, okay?"

"Don't you even worry, whatever bounty we're in for, we should be together for it. Um," she peered over her shoulder at the shorter bounty hunter who was retrieving their weapons and sticking them in their duffel bags, still lying near the airlock. "We _are_ a package deal, right?"

"Did I say you could ask questions, _aruetii?_ " the pale-armored figure demanded.

" _Ven udesla, vod,_ " the second figure seemed to chastise gently. "Yes, _aruetii_ , the bounty is for the both of you, as well as your belongings."

"Including our droids?" she replied hopefully.

"Including your droids," the red-armored bounty hunter affirmed with a nod.

"Okay, thanks." After the none-too-gentle nudge from the shorter captor, the blonde Corellian began to walk towards the airlock. "Hey, um, can I ask why you keep calling me… _aruetii?_ "

"We are Mandalorians. The word means… Well, 'outsider' might be the best translation."

"Are we giving language lessons now, _ner vod?_ " The first armored figure interjected with a note of humor in her voice.

"Oh, _nar'sheb,_ " the second one chuckled in return.

While they exited the wrecked starship, another one was descending nearby. As opposed to their rather bulky and dilapidated former transport, this one was all sleek, elegant lines and shining chrome plating. It swiveled around as it came to a rest so that the door ramp opening on the back was lined up with their approach.

"Nice ride," Yang whistled appreciatively.

Ruby, however, was practically bouncing on her toes in excitement, their predicament momentarily forgotten. "Oh, wow, an actual X-70B Phantom-class Infiltrator!" she squealed. Her bouncing about almost caused her to fall to the side as they ascended the ramp, but the red-armored figure caught hold of her and reeled her back in, shaking her head in seeming amusement.

"Of course, you'd know the ship type," the blonde replied with a quiet laugh.

"No, Yang, you don't understand! These are _super_ rare to find! They're still in the experimental prototype phase, with high-tech radar coating and next-generation navigation systems, optimal interior design, advanced shielding, dual turrets and heavy forward weaponry…" The excitable girl finally had to stop in her rapid explanation when she needed to suck in a huge breath. " _This is so cool!_ " the brunette finally squeaked.

"Well, I gotta say," a blond, blue-and-gold-armored man stated as he walked forward to meet them at the top of the ramp, his helmet not in evidence. "This is the most excited bounty we've ever brought in."

"Jaune, two droids on the ship still," the smaller figure, evidently the one in charge by their commanding tone, stated. She set the sisters' bags down against the wall of the cargo hold with a muffled _thump_. "Both immobilized, go get them, _gedet'ye._ "

" _Troch!_ " he replied cheerfully, his bright blue eyes twinkling with humor as he passed them with a jaunty wave.

The smuggler girls were brought further inside the ship, gently prodded from behind. Yang had to admit, the interior was as nice as the outside, with wide corridors and a clean, almost pristine look about it.

"You just get this ship?" she asked curiously.

"Been a few years," the red-armored woman replied nonchalantly. "Helps to have connections."

Her partner snorted, the electronic filtering doing nothing to dispel the humor lacing her words. " _Ba'gedet'ye_ , so glad you're enjoying the fruits of my connections, _ner vod_."

The other Mandalorian barked out a quick laugh as they entered a medium-sized chamber lined with force-cage holding cells. The procession paused, the two figures facing each other silently. Yang figured out after a few seconds that they must have been holding a conversation over their helmet comms, and whatever it was, the white-armored bounty hunter seemed to eventually capitulate with a toss of her hands over her head, stepping back and crossing her arms.

"Alright, then, in you go," the taller one instructed, giving Yang a gentle push towards a cell on the right. "You too, _ad'ika_ , go with your sister, we'll join two cages into one so you may remain together."

"Really?" Ruby whispered gratefully. "Um… how do you say 'thank you' in your language?"

"In _Mando'a?_ You would say ' _vor entye_ '," she replied with amusement.

The brunette nodded as she moved to stand next to Yang. "Well, then, _vor entye_."

The red-armored woman nodded, indicating with her finger that they should turn around. " _Ba'gedet'ye, ad'ika_ ," she replied as she slipped their magcuffs off and stepped back, activating the forcefields around the joined cages.

Yang let out a sigh as she slumped back onto the small bench provided, but Ruby remained on her feet, pressing close to the barrier. "Why d'you call me _ad'ika?_ " she asked curiously. "Is that different from _aruetii?_ "

Chuckling, the figure removed her helmet, revealing a pleasant Human face with sparkling emerald eyes and long red hair that she shook out with a sigh of relief. "Yes, it means 'little one'," she stated, her voice melodic and full of amusement.

The other figure pulled her helmet off as well. She was, in fact, also a female, though her skin was too pale to be Human and her long hair stark white in color to match her armor. She looked to be rather young, though, perhaps of an age with Yang. Twin pale blue orbs regarded the smuggler sisters, the left eye framed by a scar that bisected it top to bottom. "More lessons, Pyrrha?"

"It doesn't hurt any, Weiss," the redhead replied with a shrug.

"Wow," Ruby breathed almost reverently, staring open-mouthed at the shorter Mandalorian. "You're really pretty."

Yang let out a snort of laughter, causing her sister to blush heavily and spin around, squeezing her eyes shut.

"I just said that out loud, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did, Rubes," the blonde chuckled. "Yeah, you did." She glanced over towards where Weiss stood, flabbergasted and doing an admirable job of imitating a Burra fish from Dathomir with how her mouth was opening and closing, her forgotten helmet still clasped in her hands.

They were saved from any further embarrassment, whether from figuring out what to say or from Yang's penchant for relentlessly teasing her sister's often disastrous attempts at flirting, by the arrival of the third Mandalorian with a magsled. Tied securely on top were both ZW-31 and P3-NY, the latter looking a bit like an undersized bucket on its side.

"Want me to stick these in a cell as well?" Jaune asked pleasantly.

Weiss finally snapped her mouth shut and spun on her heel, marching stridently out of the room.

The blond stared after her, rubbing the back of his head in perplexity. "Was it something I said?"

"No, you're fine, Jaune," the redhead replied with some warmth. "Er… _elek_ , let's put the droids across the holding cells, here, so that we may deactivate the restraining bolts, _gedet'ye_."

The pair of Mandalorians managed to wrestle the droids off their transport well enough, disabling the bolts and activating the fields around their cell.

"The bolts need to stay on," Pyrrha mentioned apologetically. "When we get you to where you need to go, we can remove them."

"And where are we going, exactly?" Yang queried as Jaune left the room with the magsled in tow. "Can you tell us that much?"

The redheaded bounty hunter paused at the portal, glancing over at them with a regretful look in her emerald eyes. "Nar Shaddaa," she murmured before ducking out.

"Ah, vape it all," the blonde sighed, banging the back of her head against the bulkhead. "Must be that Hutt-spawn, Junior."

Ruby plopped down next to her sister, brow furrowed in concern. "But I thought he was our client?"

"Our last one, yeah, the one whose cargo got stolen out from under us. He musta gotten impatient, or somehow got word we crashed."

"Oh. Well… shavit."

The brunette sighed as she snuggled into her sister's side. In response, Yang draped her good left arm over the little mechanic's slender shoulders. Across the way, both droids moaned softly in commiseration.

"Whelp," Yang finally sighed, giving her sister a loving squeeze. The deck gave a small lurch as they took off, though otherwise, the flight on the advanced starship was smooth and practically unnoticeable. "At least there's a bright side."

"Yep, at least we're together."

"That, yeah, but know what else?"

"What?"

"Well, the 'pretty' one didn't just blast you right outta hand when you flirted with her. Maybe you actually have a chance with this one?"

"Yang..."

"I'm just sayin', _anything's_ gotta be better than that Twi'lek girl on Coruscant…"

" _Yannnggg…._ "

"Or the Mirialan girl back at the Yavin-4 research station… Oh, or that cute dancer on Nar Shaddaa…"

" _YANG!_ "

* * *

 

_Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance):_  
 **Yang Xiao Long** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, talented pilot, and droid tinkerer.  
 **ZW-31** \- Yang's custom astromech droid.  
 **Ruby Rose** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, skilled mechanic, and gun nut.  
 **P3-NY** \- Ruby's astromech droid.  
 **Lady Salem** \- Rattataki female. Sith Lord and advisor to the Emperor.  
 **Lady Cinder Fall** \- Human female. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Darth Hazel** \- Sith Pureblood male. Sith Lord Warrior.  
 **Darth Tyrian** \- Zabrak male. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Emerald Sustrai** \- Twi'lek female. Sith Marauder.  
 **Mercury Black** \- Human male. Sith Warrior.  
 **Weiss Schnee** \- Echani female from Eshan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Pyrrha Nikos** \- Human female from Alderaan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Jaune Arc** \- Human male from Mandalore. Mandalorian bounty hunter trainee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** New players enter the scene! Apparently, Yang got all the flirting genes in the family. Ruby tries… So, something you might have picked up on here. I'm not going to be translating the _Mando'a_ , most of it can be figured out in context, but eventually, some of it will be revealed for the _aruetiie_. (Bonus lesson, in Mandalorian a noun is made plural with the addition of an 'e' on the end.)
> 
> Stay shiny! (I could change this to something like "May the force be with you," but… naaah.)


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**  
**En Route to Nar Shaddaa  
** _**Myrtenaster** _

"So, what about… _vod?_ I hear you guys say that a lot…"

"Well, it means either brother or sister. Adding _ner_ in front just means 'my', like, 'my brother'."

Weiss furrowed her brow as she listened in on the conversation between Jaune and the diminutive brunette girl who'd been brought in as a bounty along with her boisterous blonde sister. The younger Mandalorian blond had been sitting in the room of cages, conversing with the, admittedly, amicable Corellians during his breaks from monitoring the bridge. Their cordiality was all the more remarkable considering their current plight, on their way to be delivered to Nar Shaddaa.

"Wait, so, Mandalorians don't differentiate between genders in their language?" she heard the annoyingly cute brunette interject next.

"Nope," Jaune replied easily.

"That is _sooo_ cool!"

The Mandalorian woman's face momentarily eased into a smile at the little mechanic's exuberance before morphing back into a scowl, her arms folded tightly against her white-enameled chestplate from where she leaned up against the bulkhead, around the corner from the detention chamber.

 _What the_ shab _is wrong with me?_ she thought to herself irritably. _I am an Echani, a warrior born of a long line of proud warriors, I am not one to be so… distracted._

She'd noted the brunette when they'd first apprehended their bounty, of course, but had been entirely too focused on the task at hand to really get a decent look at her. And then that simple, offhand comment when she'd taken her helmet off… Even now she refused to dignify the girl by name in her head, otherwise, that would create even more unwanted confusion.

"Anything else you wanted to know, Ruby?"

Weiss spun on her heel, marching down the corridor of her beloved ship, _Myrtenaster_ , the scowl on her face deepening to lethal proportions. " _Haar'chak,_ " she muttered angrily. " _Haar'chak, haar'chak, haar'chak_ …"

"Cursing to yourself already, _ner vod?_ One would think something had gotten under your skin…"

She came to a stop in the middle of the common area, leveling her glare upon her partner. Of course, her sister Mandalorian was wholly unaffected by the onslaught, simply gazing back from her seat on the lounge couch with a merry twinkle in her emerald-green eyes.

Pyrrha let out a sigh as she sat up, patting the seat next to her. "Come, talk with me, you're acting like a Gundark denied their prey. That's not healthy for when we hit planetside, and you know it."

"Ugh," she groaned, changing course to flop inelegantly in the space indicated with a muffled _whump_. "I know, I'm acting like an _utreekov_ …"

"I didn't say that," the redhead replied levelly. "Though, love does tend to make _utreekove_ of us all…"

Weiss' glare, having receded somewhat, returned in force as she glanced at the smirking Mando warrior. "I am not… I don't… Argh!" She grabbed both sides of her head with her hands, screwing her eyes shut. "Just… _K'uur!_ "

" _Elek_ , _ner vod_ ," Pyrrha replied humorously. "You cannot deny, though, that you have become somewhat… enamored of the _ad'ika_." She raised an eyebrow in curiosity at just how unhinged her partner had become since departing Tatooine. "Er… You do realize we will quite likely never see them again after we collect our bounty, do you not?"

The pale-skinned woman leaned back with her head against the rear of the lounge, closing her eyes wearily once more. "I know," she whispered. "And that is what irritates me the most, I'm acting like a _di'kut_ when it isn't even necessary…"

"Well, I honestly don't know what to tell you." The redheaded Mandalorian levered herself up, jumping in place slightly to settle her armor. "I will go check our course, but in the meantime, you know I am here for you, yes?"

Weiss gave a little grunt of acknowledgment, which caused the other woman to smile and lean down, giving the alabaster armor a sharp _rap_ with one gauntleted knuckle.

That got her to open her eyes, gazing back with pale blue orbs to see the crimson-armored woman extend an arm to her.

" _Vode an_ ," Pyrrha stated solemnly.

Smiling softly at the reminder of their bond as Mandalorians and sisters in a capacity that transcended blood, Weiss clasped their forearms together. " _Vode an,_ Pyrrha. And _vor entye_."

The redhead grinned widely as she turned and strode out in the direction of the bridge. " _K'oyacyi!_ " she cheerfully called back over her shoulder.

The Echani woman sighed and leaned her head back again, once more closing her eyes. In just a few more hours, this job would be complete and she could move on with her life once again, without the distraction of a pair of pretty silver eyes…

" _Haar'chak,_ " she groaned in frustration.

**Nar Shaddaa**

Weiss strode down the ramp of her ship, scanners active and searching for threats. She loosed the slim but accurate blaster pistol in its holster, resting her left hand on it as she made a slow sweep of the landing pad.

"Clear," she reported tersely over the helmet comm. "No _aru'e_."

"Relax, _ner vod_ ," Pyrrha's voice came back soothingly. "Jaune already scanned the area from the bridge."

"Just making sure."

"And not because you're as jumpy as a Draagax, hmm?"

She let out an irritable huff, not deigning to reply otherwise. Soon enough, her partner joined her at the bottom of the ramp, gently herding along the Corellian sisters who were bound once more with their arms behind them. Weiss tapped her left forearm readout to ensure the magcuffs were secure before turning and leading the way into the depths of the Hutt-controlled cityscape.

Yang was glancing around with interest at the garish holographic signs, getting her bearings, before facing forward once again with a resigned sigh. "Yep, what I thought. Junior."

"Hey, are we not bringing our droids along?" the brunette piped up, worry lacing her words.

The Echani Mandalorian almost didn't reply, but with a resigned sigh dropped her jaw to open the exterior mic. "Not just yet. The bounty includes all property, but we'll make sure things are _jate_ first."

" _Jate?_ "

"Er… Good. Or clear… Essentially that the client is on the up-and-up."

"Oh, okay. Um, thanks, Weiss!"

With a scowl directed solely at herself, Weiss flexed her jaw once more and closed the channel. " _Haar'chak, haar'chak, haar'chak_ …"

" _Udesiir, vod,_ " Pyrrha murmured soothingly.

She groaned quietly as they walked down the dimly-lit corridor. She upped the light amplification slightly to accommodate. "I'm calm, I'm all sorts of _shabla_ calm."

Ignoring the amused snort, Weiss scrolled through the readings on her HUD. Several active cameras had been tagged, meaning that their approach would already have been noted.

Before too long, the corridor opened up into a courtyard. It was ringed on three sides by buildings, the rust-stained walls tall and imposing, while the left side was simply a massive network of pipes and conduits that served as a latticework ceiling overhead as well. Enough of the red-tinted sky was visible to provide decent enough illumination that the Mandalorian reverted the light amplification of her helmet back to normal levels.

There were a handful of people scattered about the area, with one hulking man in a fashionable black suit waiting in the center, flanked by a pair of Devaronian women. The assumed bodyguards shifted about restlessly, one dressed in a white jumpsuit and the other in red.

Her visor readout quickly displayed all weaponry in the area, from the twin blasters of one bodyguard to the twin vibroblades on the other, the blaster tucked into a shoulder holster of their client, and the armaments concealed close by where the other four humanoids were spread about.

Her rear camera display let her see that Pyrrha was slowing her approach, not liking the number of potential ambush points any more than she did. Weiss fought down the quick flush of relief when she noted her partner was keeping both girls near her when she paused near a few crates that could provide potential cover.

Activating her external mic once more, Weiss addressed the Human male waiting for them.

"Hei Xiong, I presume?"

"Yeah, you got it," the bearded man answered roughly. He shot a smirk at the pair of siblings standing some distance behind her. "And you got the goods."

"I do. You have the payment?"

"Well, that depends… The contract specified belongings, too." The burly man, commonly referred to as Junior within the Nar Shaddaa underworld, folded his arms across his barrel chest and leaned against the crates behind him. "You get their ship also?"

"Their ship was a wreck," Weiss responded levelly. "The cargo, too. We have their personal effects and a pair of droids back on our ship, which we will transfer to you as soon as your payment authorizes."

"Well, now, that's a shame to hear," he sighed, shaking his head. "Would have at least liked to have gotten a little return from how they karked up the last job… But, oh well."

"He's going to double-cross us," Pyrrha warned quietly in her ear.

She quickly switched over to the internal comm to answer. "I know." Externally, she decided to give the criminal another chance. "The payment?" she prompted once more, the fingers of her left hand slowly closing over her blaster's grip.

"See, here's the thing," Xiong replied guilelessly, spreading his arms wide. "I never pay for anything I don't have to."

"Oh, you'll pay alright, _aruetii_. Whether you can afford the price has yet to be seen."

With a derisive snort, Xiong dropped his arms, and the courtyard erupted with gunfire.

Weiss was already moving, her blaster in hand and sending accurate shots at the four visible humanoids who ringed the courtyard. Xiong and his bodyguards had quickly dodged out of sight as soon as his men had opened fire.

As she crouched behind a durasteel crate, her gaze involuntarily flickered over to where the Corellian sisters had been standing. The Mandalorian warrior let out a quick sigh of relief at the sight of the pair huddled together where Pyrrha had tossed them, protected from the blaster bolts by the flimsier crates that were nearby. The crimson-armored woman herself was crouched over them, blaster rifle raised as she calmly picked off the snipers who had been lying in wait above their heads.

"It would seem," Pyrrha mentioned calmly over their helmet comm, "that the situation is a bit _shabla_ , yes?"

"A bit," Weiss agreed nonchalantly. She tapped a quick code into her forearm readout and released the magcuffs around her former bounties. "I'm going after him."

" _K'oyacyi, ner vod._ I'll hold here."

" _K'oyacyi_ ," she returned steadily, hoping the literal admonition to stay alive wouldn't be necessary. After a quick huff, she darted out from behind her cover and raced forward, just in time to see her target duck through a small portal and seal it behind him. The pair of Devaronians drew their weapons and faced her as she charged forward.

With a fierce grin behind her helmet, Weiss dropped to one knee while her forward momentum carried her into a slide, firing her blaster at the pair. Both managed to dodge out of the way easily enough, quickly circling around to flank the Mandalorian as she jumped back to her feet.

The red-clad bodyguard sailed in close, vibroblades whirling around her like a sand dervish. Weiss turned her right shoulder and took the attack full-on, slamming into the woman. Malachite eyes widened in shock below the twin spots common on the foreheads of the females of her race as she went stumbling backwards, though Weiss didn't intend to let up. Several blaster bolts hit her in the back but she trusted in her armor, her _Beskar'gam_ , to protect her.

With a quick flex of muscles, the blade in her right vambrace extended and she slashed outwards, catching her opponent with a shallow but painful cut across her abdomen. The Devaronian woman fell to the durocrete ground with an anguished scream.

Weiss pushed off of her right foot and spun back around to confront the other bodyguard who was peppering her with blaster fire, a fierce scowl on her lightly-furred face. The Mandalorian charged forward, sending a few shots to precede her and force her opponent to dodge. As she closed in, the platinum-haired woman dropped to the floor and spun. The armored boot smashing into the other woman's leg produced a very satisfying _crunch_ , causing more screams to join in the chorus as the last bodyguard fell next to her.

Grunting, Weiss levered herself up and checked her surroundings. Every enemy in sight was down, dead or wounded too severely to put up any more of a fight. She kicked the pair of blasters to the side before taking a quick step over to crouch next to the white-clad Devaronian. The wristblade pressed to her throat cut her piteous wails off like a switch.

"Name?" she growled, the electronic filtering causing the word to come out in a deadly-sounding rumble.

"M- Melanie," her downed opponent whispered shakily.

The bounty hunter inclined her head slightly towards where the red-clad woman lay, breathlessly watching the scene with avid eyes and clutching her hands to her bleeding stomach. "Sister?"

"Y- Yes, my twin, Miltiades, we're… We're exiles. From Devaron."

"You picked one _hu'tuun_ of an employer, didn't you?"

The Devaronian blinked uncertainly, not understanding the word but perhaps gathering the implication of such just by context. Weiss leaned forward a bit so that the Y-shaped visor was all the other woman could see.

"Where did he go?"

Gulping, Melanie licked her lips nervously. "He… He's got a bolt-hole, don't know where… where it goes."

"Please," a soft, pained voice pleaded from behind Weiss. "Let us go? We won't interfere…"

"Miltia, quiet," the Devaronian under her implored, eyes wide and scared.

"You two want to live? Give me something I can use."

"You can't make it back to your ship," Melanie immediately replied, the words tumbling from her mouth like water. "Junior would have called in reinforcements by now, you're cut off, but there's another accessible landing pad three levels up and to the north…"

"Hmm. Alright, then." Weiss gracefully rose to her feet again, smirking at the sighs of relief from the two prone women. _Sometimes the reputation of Mandalorians can be_ Mandokar _indeed._

She turned without another word and strode towards Pyrrha and the other girls, both of whom had retrieved discarded blasters and were clutching them determinedly. "We have to go," she announced over her external mic. "More _aru'e_ inbound."

" _Bal'ban_." The crimson Mandalorian rose, her blaster carbine held at the ready. "Back to the ship?"

" _Nayc_ , we're about to be cut off." Weiss came to a stop, careful to keep her body turned away while still able to ascertain that, though somewhat shaken, the brunette Corellian was uninjured. "Pull up the schematics, we need a stairway up."

She gave a curt nod to Pyrrha's murmured " _Lek_ " and then quickly opened a channel to the ship. "Jaune, any activity?"

" _Nayc_ , all clear," the Mandalorian trainee promptly reported.

"Won't be for long. Take off, look for another landing pad three levels up."

" _Lek,_ which side?"

" _Gaht._ " With the directions given, Weiss closed the channel and began to head for the blinking icon now on her HUD where Pyrrha was herding the others. Blaster in hand, she kept a careful eye out for any more trouble.

The group of four carefully headed up the durocrete stairway, Pyrrha pausing at each landing to check ahead. At the second one, the brunette girl turned, her own confiscated blaster held in a high ready stance. "Hey, Weiss?"

"Yes… Ruby?" She scowled once again behind her concealing helmet, this time at how nice it felt to say her name.

"Um… So, yeah, I saw you fight earlier, and… well… I just wanna say…"

Weiss turned slightly from where she was watching the rear, only to peer directly into excited pools of silver.

"That was _so cool!_ " the diminutive mechanic finally burbled quietly. "I mean, you were all, _whoosh_ and _wham_ and they never even stood a chance! You were totally amazing!"

"Er… _vor'e_."

"Oh, that kinda sounded like _vor entye_ a little bit, so was that 'thanks', then?"

The white-armored Mandalorian sighed humorously as they began their ascent once more. "Yes, it is."

"Cool! I mean… _Ba'gedet'ye!_ " Ruby grinned disarmingly over her shoulder. "Did I say that right?"

Before Weiss could respond, the blonde just ahead turned with a smirk on her face. "Rubes, you can flirt on your own time, let's get outta here first, huh?"

"Yang!" her sister squawked indignantly, face blushing brightly all the way to the tips of her ears. "I wasn't… You… Shut up!"

"Too _copikla_ ," Weiss murmured under her breath, careful not to let the mic pick her words up. Louder, she cleared her throat before addressing Ruby. " _K'uur_."

"What was that?" the brunette asked curiously.

" _K'uur_. It means to shut it. Or you could use _nar'sheb_ , that means to shove it, but perhaps a bit stronger than that."

"Oh, awesome! Hey, Yang! _Nar'sheb!_ "

"Rubes, I don't know what that means, but when I find out I got the feeling I'm gonna thump you for it."

"Bring it!" Ruby exclaimed cheerfully, sticking her tongue out.

Weiss closed her external mic. "Entirely too _copikla_ for her own good," she groaned.

"And yet you encourage her, _ner vod_."

She scowled irritably at the crimson-armored back half a flight of steps up, having forgotten to close the channel she always left open between her and her partner. "Oh, _k'uur_."

Her scowl only deepened at the amused giggle she received in response, but it dropped when her external sensors picked up on movement from below. Switching back to external, she turned and dropped to one knee. "Keep moving, the landing pad is another level up."

There wasn't time to wait for any acknowledgment as a pair of Rodian thugs came charging up the steps soon thereafter, followed by a Twi'lek and a Human, all males and clutching blaster rifles rather determinedly. Her blaster snapped up to drop the first two, the henchmen unable to even lift their guns in time, but before she could track the second pair they were down as well, smoldering holes in their foreheads.

Weiss turned incredulously to regard the petite brunette who was standing just behind her, enough so to take advantage of the cover her armored form provided but with her own blaster held in steady hands.

"C'mon, Weiss, we gotta keep moving!" Ruby chirped, giving the shoulder pauldron on her armor a tug.

"Er, _lek,_ let's move…"

Shaking her head in bemusement, she charged up the rest of the stairs, shoulder-to-shoulder with the other girl, finally coming to a corridor where both Pyrrha and Yang stood guard, waving them forward. Just behind them could be seen the silvery prow of the _Myrtenaster_.

And behind Weiss came the sounds of more pounding feet.

" _Osik!_ " she growled, allowing her pace to slack off enough so that she might drift over to run directly behind the other girl. "Keep going!"

Blaster bolts began to scream past them, wildly inaccurate though one managed to ricochet off of her right arm nonetheless, stumbling her slightly. But the return fire from her partner and the blonde woman ahead served to make their pursuers more cautious, and they hurled themselves onto the landing pad without further harm.

Spinning on her heel, Weiss leveled her blaster at the portal controls, frying them and causing the blast doors to drop.

Less than five minutes later, they were on board the Mandalorian cruiser and soaring high overhead.

 **In Orbit Around Nar Shaddaa  
** _**Myrtenaster** _

Weiss plopped down onto the lounge couch and dropped her helmet unceremoniously onto the low table, beside the crimson one already resting there. "Well, you were right, _ner vod_."

"About what, this time?" Pyrrha replied from her perch next to her, resting with her eyes closed but a faint smile on her face.

" _Di'kut_ ," she snorted inelegantly in response. "About this bounty being a bad idea."

"Oh, I don't know about that…" The redhead peeled her eyelids open to regard her partner fondly. "Looks like our bounties got to stay on board."

"Er… yes…"

"And what were your plans regarding that?"

"I… hadn't decided yet," she lied.

"Well, I hear them approaching, so now might be a good time to decide."

Sure enough, the pair of Corellian sisters strode into the common area from where they'd been conversing with Jaune earlier. Wordlessly, they slid into the lounge opposite the Mandalorians and regarded them intently.

Weiss let out a sigh as she sat back up. "So."

Yang nodded, her sister seemingly content to sit back and let her talk though her silver eyes would flicker between the other three restlessly.

"Before you say anything… Um, we just wanna thank you guys for, y'know… not leaving us behind."

The platinum-haired woman shared a quick glance with her partner before giving a slow nod of her own. "I realize you don't know much about Mandalorians… but that was never an option."

"Oh, okay, well…" Yang rubbed the back of her neck with a grimace. "Thanks, anyway. Um, that is, _vor entye_."

" _Ba'gedet'ye_."

"So what now?"

"Well." Weiss leaned forward, carefully not allowing her gaze to linger on either sister for too long. "As I see it, you have two options, really. We could put you down on any planet you like…"

"Any planet?" Ruby finally chimed in curiously.

"Well, _elek_ , there are some we cannot step foot on without… consequences… But we could at the very least touch down and allow you and your droids to disembark."

The lounge was silent for the span of a half minute before Yang spoke up again.

"And what was the other choice?" she murmured quietly.

"You could… stay on board. As crew. With us." Weiss snapped her mouth shut as she realized her speech, carefully rehearsed in her head, was likely a lost cause by this point. "Er, if you would like," she finished lamely.

A widely-grinning Pyrrha sat up as well, coming to her flustered partner's rescue. "We do not have any sort of crew on board, only our own meager skills. A _gotabor_ , that is, engineer, would be grand, though we already have a pilot. I'm sure, Yang, you have other skills…?"

"I can do electrical repairs and maintenance," the blonde replied, her voice distant as the pair of siblings communicated silently. Though, from the way the brunette practically vibrated in place, Ruby's choice was already clear.

"You sure?" Yang murmured hesitantly to her sister.

"Oh, yeah," Ruby grinned. "Totally."

"Alright, then." The blonde turned to regard their new employers with a broad smile. "Crew."

**Unknown Point in Space**

The view from the dim room was rather breathtaking. A distant nebula glowed with muted hues of purple and blue against the star-studded blackness of space, silhouetting the still form that knelt before the wide portal.

Though the woman wore the traditional vestments of a Jedi, the colors were a bit unusual. Instead of the typical browns and tans, she wore a dark grey robe, the hood pulled up, over her white tunic and black leggings. A wide sash of a purple so dark it might as well have been black completed the ensemble, along with the signature lightsaber at her side.

Her meditations were interrupted by a light, deferential _rap_ on the portal behind her.

"Enter," she responded in a husky, melodic voice.

The light from the hallway fell across her form, revealing the shadowy profile of her apprentice. He was a rail-thin Mirialan with emerald skin and ropy muscles, his hair kept to a rather nonregulatory length and with a streak of magenta that was nowhere near what many on Coruscant considered proper for an apprentice.

She turned her head as the door closed to regard the man with a fond smile. He slipped forward and knelt in an identical position, dark green robes tucked under his legs, though just a fraction behind her as was his wont, showing his respect. "What news, Ren?"

"Master Ozpin is on the holographic terminal for you, Master."

"And I suppose you came immediately to fetch me?"

"Of course, Master."

"Well, then, join me for a few minutes in meditation. He is used to waiting for me."

The other Jedi sighed with equal parts humor and resignation. "Yes, Master."

It was decidedly against the Jedi code to take amusement in making her own former master wait, but she was used to being an outlier to most Jedi.

It was how she ended up where she was, after all.

Before too long, however, she rose from her perch, gathering her robes around her and silently slipping from the rudimentary meditation room. The woman calmly strode down the corridor lined with rust-streaked metal. As she did the thought occurred to her, and not for the first time, that the dilapidated ship she'd been assigned to was perhaps a bit of subtle revenge from those who opposed her on the Jedi Council.

Also behavior not fitting for a Jedi, but as she'd often claimed, her order was nothing if not hypocritical in many areas.

Eventually, she reached the central lounge, pausing to reach overhead and rap her fingers against the sputtering light there. It glowed steadily once more, though she was sure it would return to its former rebellious state sooner or later. In the middle of the area was the holoprojector, a blinking light indicating a transmission currently on hold.

Once she activated it, stepping back slightly to properly regard her caller, the wavering and translucent image of a robed man appeared, bespectacled and with a shock of grey hair atop his head.

"You do realize how expensive it is to call you where you are, do you not?" he began without preamble.

"My apologies, Master Ozpin," she replied smoothly but with no trace of remorse whatsoever in her tone.

The Jedi Council member shook his head minutely with a sigh. "Very well. I have something I need you to check into, please. It concerns a couple of possibly kidnapped Republic citizens."

"Really?" The spoken word was droll enough to convey a multitude of reservations.

"I would not normally bother you with something so trivial… but from what the missive I received indicated, there are Mandalorians involved. These two women were intercepted within Republic-protected space."

"Where, precisely?"

"Tatooine."

A rather indecorous snort told him exactly what she thought of his definition of 'protected'.

"Yes, I realize the Sith Empire also lays claim to this planet, which makes this situation all the more delicate." He leaned forward slightly, tipping his dark spectacles down. "The treaty must be preserved, but we also must not seem weak."

The woman crossed her arms, tipping her head down so that her hooded face remained in the shadows. "So, politics, then."

"No, this is simply Jedi business, protecting the peace."

With a huff, she shook her head wearily. "Very well, Master Ozpin."

"So you will take this assignment?"

She reached up and pulled her hood back, revealing the features of a Cathar, though not as prominently cat-like as those of her species tended to be, owing to her mixed heritage. The pale fur on her cheekbones and chin were a rather easy indicator of her bloodline, though, along with the feline nose, the pair of furry black ears that stuck up past her raven hair, and the brilliantly glowing amber eyes that regarded the Jedi Master intently.

"You should have known I would do this anyway," she returned with a small smirk.

"Very well. Please do let me know of any progress, Master Belladonna."

* * *

 _Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance):_  
**Yang Xiao Long** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, talented pilot, and droid tinkerer.  
**ZW-31** \- Yang's custom astromech droid.  
**Ruby Rose** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, skilled mechanic, and gun nut.  
**P3-NY** \- Ruby's astromech droid.  
**Lady Salem** \- Rattataki female. Sith Lord and advisor to the Emperor.  
**Lady Cinder Fall** \- Human female. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
**Darth Hazel** \- Sith Pureblood male. Sith Lord Warrior.  
**Darth Tyrian** \- Zabrak male. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
**Emerald Sustrai** \- Twi'lek female. Sith Marauder.  
**Mercury Black** \- Human male. Sith Warrior.  
**Weiss Schnee** \- Echani female from Eshan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Pyrrha Nikos** \- Human female from Alderaan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Jaune Arc** \- Human male from Mandalore. Mandalorian bounty hunter trainee.  
**Hei "Junior" Xiong** \- Human male from Tatooine. Gangster and information broker.  
**Melanie Malachite** \- Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
**Miltia Malachite** \- Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
**Blake Belladonna** \- Half-Cathar female from Cathar. Jedi Master.  
**Lie Ren** \- Mirialan male from Makeb. Jedi Apprentice to Master Belladonna.  
**Master Ozpin** \- Human male from Coruscant. Jedi Master and Council Member.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** And more characters introduced! Just about got the main cast assembled, save for a handful more...
> 
> Stay shiny!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4  
** **En Route to Taris  
** _**Myrtenaster** _

"So, what exactly is on Taris, anyways?" Ruby asked curiously from where she lay halfway under the bridge console on her back, legs crossed and one foot bouncing up and down aimlessly. She reached her hand down, groping for a wirecutter which P3-NY obligingly scooted closer to her with a low tweet. "Thanks, sweetie! So, yeah, Taris… I don't think we ever got to there, some kinda embargo, I think?"

"Taris…" Jaune murmured thoughtfully from the pilot's seat as he tapped the display there, checking their course. "Used to be a city-world, home to a planetary metropolis covering most of the planet. Something like... three centuries ago, I think? Anyway, it was bombarded by Darth Malak and left a toxic ruin."

The brunette scooted out slightly, resting her tools on her stomach in order to regard the blond Mandalorian solemnly. "Oh. Wow."

"Yeah, it's a mess down there now, bunch of shattered skyscrapers and the like where vegetation and animal life struggle to survive." Jaune turned to give Ruby a wink. "I think your Republic tried recolonizing, and then the Empire decided to step in, so it's a bit of a mess now."

"That ain't the half of it," a voice chimed in. Yang walked onto the bridge, wiping her hands on a rag, while ZW-31 rolled in behind her. The two droids hummed a brief greeting to each other while the blonde plopped down into the navigator's seat. "Reason we never went anywhere near the karking planet was the plague that's been spreading by something called a 'rakghoul'."

"Heard about them," Jaune commented with a small grin. "Heard they're tough to hunt."

Yang snorted, shaking her head in amusement. "Spoken like a true Mandalorian… Hey, so, question for ya."

" _Lek?_ "

"Fancy ship like this," the blonde began, sitting forward with her elbows resting on her knees, "has got a whole lotta automation. Even a droid AI to pilot if needed, yeah?"

"It's rudimentary," Jaune admitted. "And Weiss doesn't trust it."

"Okay, that answers the first part… So, then, how long have you been piloting?"

The blond armored man grimaced slightly. "Um, a year or so."

Yang blinked her lilac eyes. "Is that… just on here, or total?"

"Uh, yeah, same thing, really." By this point Ruby had gone back to work, so Jaune turned in his seat to face Yang fully. "I'm not all that great at it, I know… I mean, I can take off and land easily enough, get us from planet to planet… But I already know what you're going to ask, ultimately."

"Oh, yeah?" The blonde Corellian leaned back with an easy smile, hands laced behind her head. "Am I that easy to read?"

"If you pay enough attention, sure," her sister chimed in from somewhere amidst the lattice of electrical wiring.

"Did I ask you, Little Worrt?"

Ruby snorted humorously at the nickname, referencing the small frog-like creatures native to Tatooine. " _Nar'sheb!_ "

"I'm still gonna find out what that means… Jaune!" The blonde grinned disarmingly at the Mandalorian pilot. "First off, what do you think I was gonna ask, and secondly, what the kriff does _nar'sheb_ mean?"

Chuckling lightly, Jaune turned to regard the readout in front of him, tapping a few controls idly. "Well… you were going to offer your services as a pilot. Weiss won't let you, though."

"She won't?"

He raised his hands slightly in a calming gesture at her bristling tone. "Hey, it's nothing personal, it took her six months to even allow me at the controls, up till then she was the pilot." He shuddered briefly. "And believe me, she's an awful pilot. In any case, you're _aruetii_ , an outsider, and you have to earn her trust before she would let you take over."

Jaune rose then, shrugging his shoulders easily. "Personally, I wouldn't mind you taking over if you're as _jate_ as you've said you are. But give it time, _elek_?"

"Yeah, okay… Hey, what about the other thing?"

"Well…" The blond Mandalorian rubbed the back of his neck with an ungauntleted hand. "I… kinda can't tell you, sorry. Ruby made me swear not to." With that, he beat a hasty retreat from the bridge.

"Why, you little…" Yang looked around in outrage only to note that at some point her petite sister had vanished, along with her little astromech droid. She sighed, flopping back in her chair and regarding the softly-beeping ZW-31 wryly.

"I'm fine, Zwei, not really mad at her, you know that…"

Tweedling in concurrence, the black and white droid wheeled forward to gently bump his master's knee. He softly inquired as to her mental health, which seemed to be more tenuous than usual lately, even for an organic.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, buddy," she snorted. "Ah, vape it all… I dunno, Zwei, are we doing the right thing here, tagging along with a buncha bucketheads? I just… I feel like I can't control my life anymore, y'know?"

ZW-31 beeped sagely, listing several possible reasons for her sense of helplessness, starting with the loss of _Ember Celica_ and covering their kidnapping as well, not to mention the bounty likely still on the sisters' heads. As a last tidbit, he threw in both the brunette's current gainful employment as the mechanic on their new ship as well as the seeming infatuation developing between her and the Echani, who he was still unsure whether or not to classify as a threat or a friend. Likely a combination of both, at this point.

Yang's laughter increased in volume as the droid's thoughtful and warbling rendition completed. "Oh, yeah, I think that about covers it all. Thanks, buddy." She glanced towards the entrance to the bridge, ensuring there was nobody nearby. "So," she whispered, "you picked up on the little thing going on between Weiss and Rubes too, huh?"

He let out a rather indignant-sounding _blat_ at that, defensively stating that he was not nearly as unobservant as most other astromech droids due to his programming.

"Okay, okay, didn't mean to offend you any," she chuckled. She checked around once again before regarding ZW-31 with a grin. "Zwei, cold one."

At that, a small hatch atop the droid's head opened with a tiny pressurized _pop_ , and a frosty bottle jumped up and into Yang's waiting artificial hand. She flipped the cap off with her metallic thumb and took a long swig, finally setting it down with a very satisfied sigh.

"Yeah," she murmured happily. "Corellian ale makes every situation look better."

**Taris Orbit  
** _**Myrtenaster** _

"Nothing yet?" Pyrrha asked as she strode onto the bridge.

Standing next to the communications console, Weiss shook her head irritably. " _Nayc_ , nothing."

From her seat in the navigation chair once more, Yang crossed her ankle over her knee and leaned back with her arms folded. "Can't do a job if your contact goes offline."

"Precisely," the platinum-haired Echani bit out, more worriedly than anything.

At the pilot's station, Jaune gave a thoughtful hum as he also crossed his arms. "How long do we want to wait, _ner vod?_ "

"We only just-"

Weiss' reply was cut off by the sudden wailing of proximity alarms. The blonde Corellian sat forward abruptly as she peered out at the small Republic cruiser that had just dropped out of hyperspace, practically on top of them.

"Shavit," she breathed, suddenly cognizant of the fact that the ship she was now on might certainly be considered an enemy of the newcomer. And that they were, technically, inside Republic space.

The white-armored Mandalorian showed no hesitation in reaching over and slapping the controls to activate their shields. _"Osik!_ " she barked angrily. "Jaune, scan them, are they powering up weapons?"

"Uh, _lek_ , they are, but they seem kinda sluggish…"

"Weiss, call incoming," Pyrrha warned, her voice tense but level.

With a flip of a switch, the bridge was able to regard the holographic projection of what appeared to be a Cathar Jedi.

"Mandalorian cruiser," she began levelly, her voice husky but melodic. "My name is Master Blake Belladonna and I am the captain of the _Gambol Shroud_. Please make no hostile moves, surrender peacefully and there needs to be no loss of life today."

" _Jare'la Jetii_ ," Weiss growled under her breath before addressing the translucent figure. "This is the _Myrtenaster_. Are you that eager for a fight, _aruetii_ , that you would insult a Mandalorian so?"

Yang turned to Jaune, mouthing the _Mando'a_ that Weiss had initially spoken. In return, he leaned over in her direction. " _Jetii_ is Jedi, and _jare'la_ means… well, stupidly oblivious of danger, basically."

The blonde snorted humorously. _Yeah, that about describes most kriffing Jedi I've ever met._

"I assure you, no insult was intended," the Jedi was saying. "However, we are prepared to take your ship by force if necessary."

"Right," Weiss snarled, slapping the button to cut off the bridge holoterminal. "Jaune, break orbit, charge up the hyperdrive. Pyrrha, with me to the turrets."

With that, the two female Mandalorians were gone in a clatter of armor while Jaune twisted the yoke to the side, sending the ship into an oblique course away from the now-pursuing Republic cruiser.

Yang remained in her seat, keeping an eye on the monitors as she flicked the switch for the comm unit. "Hey, Ruby, looks like we're about to get into a scuffle here."

"We are?" the brunette's voice came back from the engine room. "Should I be worried?"

"Um." She glanced over at the scan report of the enemy, comparing that with the readout of their own ship, and factored in Jaune's less-than-inspired piloting skills. "I don't think so?"

"Right. Well, I'll be ready to patch up what's needed, just… Y'know, it'd be really nice to keep this ship intact, okay? I mean, it's _really_ nice and shiny and expensive, and Penny can even fit under most of the piping, it's like a mechanic's dream job, and-"

"I get it, Rubes," her sister chuckled. "Not that I have any control over this, but I'll try to make sure your ride doesn't get broken."

"Thanks, Yang!" she chirped back before closing the channel.

"So, we're running?" Yang asked casually. "Doesn't seem to fit with the whole Mandalorian image…"

Jaune snorted softly, concentrating on the console in front of him. "No Mando is stupid enough to stick around in enemy space where we're _shabla_. Er… karked. We pick our fights. _Ba'slan shev'la._ "

"Well, _that's_ a mouthful."

"It means… well, literally it means to depart silently." Jaune shot her a tight grin. "And it's a very Mandalorian tactic, disappearing strategically only to regroup and pop up where least expected. It's served us well in the past, as a culture and as individuals."

"Always learnin' something new…" The blonde turned her head at the slow warbling coming from ZW-31, parked in front of the sensor display. "What was that, Zwei?"

He tweedled some more, this time a bit more confidently.

"Huh, well, if you say so…" She narrowed her eyes as she watched the flight profile of the other cruiser. Turbolaser fire was beginning to pepper their stout rear shields, which normally wouldn't be a problem if they were competently maintained. With a sigh, she unobtrusively reached over and nudged a few controls, evening out the shields.

Jaune had his teeth grit determinedly as he tried to evade the pursuing ship, but his movements were rather tame, in her opinion. There was no way they would outrun the pursuing ship in open space, much less throw off their aim. By now she'd identified the model of the cruiser, an old _Vanguard_ -class light corvette that was a few generations out of date but still with powerful engines. While it seemed capable enough, her practiced eye could tell that the ship was sluggish and with weapons that fired far more slowly than should be the norm.

And then she noted what ZW-31 had already picked up on once the blond Mandalorian swerved again to avoid another turbolaser barrage.

"Jaune, that ship is droid-piloted," Yang announced quietly.

"It is?" he asked, sweat beading on his forehead. "Sure is giving me enough trouble…"

"Yeah, but Zwei noticed it right away - it's predictable. Look, you've got another three minutes till the hyperdrives are charged, but our shields will be vaped by then." Yang spread her hands, trying for sincere earnestness in her expression. "I can get behind them, let us take out their engines."

"Yang…" The man glanced between her and the console, chewing on his lip in frustration. " _Haar'chak_ , I'm gonna get in so much trouble for this… _Elek_ , take the con."

" _Yesss_ ," she hissed exultantly, strapping herself in tighter as she took hold of the now-extended yoke. "Alright, let 'em know that we're gonna have a clear shot, but not for too long. Droid AI should have the shields all forward, won't be able to switch them fast enough…"

She tuned out Jaune as he began rapidly talking into the ship's comm, instead concentrating on her flying. The sleek ship maneuvered back and forth, on an ever-widening zig-zag, which the Republic ship ably tracked, if just slightly behind.

"One more… Good, good, keep following… Now!" Yang slammed the yoke to the side while flipping several switches. The port sublights surged ahead while the starboard thrusters sent them skipping to the side and in a tight circle, the old Republic cruiser now woefully out of position and unable to bring its forward guns to bear. Within the span of a heartbeat, the blonde Corellian had their ship slipped in neatly behind the other and facing minimal shields, which the pair of gunners in the turrets took full advantage of.

In rapid succession, the enemy's shield generator was vaporized, followed by the hyperdrive and main power couplings.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the opposing ship was a bit more of a derelict than previously assumed, as it began to now drift, completely lifeless.

" _Kandosii!_ " Jaune exulted, pumping a fist into the air. "That was amazing flying!"

"Yeah," she replied with only a hint of modesty. "It was."

She was, after all, a Corellian.

Before long the bridge was crowded once more, this time with the addition of P3-NY and Ruby who perched worriedly on the edge of the defense console while Weiss finished admonishing both Jaune and Yang.

"...Very specific rules, and for good reason!" the platinum-haired woman stated shrilly, though she seemed to finally be winding down somewhat. "This is my ship! I am the only one who may designate who the pilot shall be! Is that clearly understood?"

Yang sat at the navigator's station still, the chair turned around to face the furious Echani woman and with her arms crossed. She thought she was doing an admirable job of keeping calm in the face of her dressing-down, but also had to admit that the platinum-haired woman was making a conscious effort to keep the _Mando'a_ phrases out of her tirade. Rather considerate, all things considered.

" _Elek, vod,_ " Jaune murmured, abashed.

Weiss arched an elegant brow towards Yang who suppressed an irritable growl. _This is our home now, and her ship, I gotta play by the rules… if nothing else, Ruby is really happy here and I don't wanna kark that up for her…_

Truth be told, though, she'd been enjoying the company of the Mandalorians. They were oftentimes gruff and uncompromising, but also very open and sharing of their culture and language. And it was nice, after so long, to have others besides her sister or their droids to converse with, as much as she dearly loved both the bubbly brunette and the little buckets on wheels.

So, she clamped down on her pride and gave a slow nod. "I understand," she stated evenly.

"Good." Weiss exhaled loudly through her nose as she considered the blonde Corellian closely. "Now, that said… Jaune, would you have any problem with Yang becoming our primary pilot?"

" _Shab_ , no!" he laughed, relief coloring his words. "She makes me look like a complete _di'kut_ when it comes to piloting!"

Yang gaped openly at the platinum-haired woman who crossed her arms over her alabaster chestplate with a small smirk on her pale face. "Well?" Weiss inquired.

"Um… Yeah! I mean… _Elek?_ That means 'yes', right?"

"It does indeed." She gave the blonde a brief glare that paled in comparison to the one she'd been treated to when she first came on the bridge. "You take care of my ship, now, _tayli'bac?"_

"Yep, you bet." She grinned widely at the Echani and offered a thumbs-up. " _Elek._ "

"Hey, Weiss?" Ruby murmured. She'd twisted around from where she perched to regard the sensor readings closely. "Y'know… the other ship, there's no power at all… I mean, no life support, nothing. I don't even think they could get a lifeboat off."

"Ship that old, likely doesn't even have lifeboats," Yang commented. "Maybe some escape pods, that's about it, though."

"Yeah, but still… they haven't launched any…"

"Yes?" Weiss prompted. "So?"

The brunette turned then, regarding the rest of the crew with solemn, pleading pools of silver. "So, we're not just gonna let them die, are we?"

Weiss and Pyrrha shared a long look, communicating wordless volumes. " _Nayc_ , we will not," the platinum-haired Mandalorian finally murmured. "Yang, can you dock us?"

"Not a problem, boss-lady."

The Echani paused at the exit from the bridge, shooting the blonde another mild glare. "Do not call me that."

"Gotcha!"

Ruby sighed, giving her sister an exasperated look as the pair of Mandalorian women departed. "Don't tease her."

"Who, me?" Yang smirked, easing the ship alongside the derelict Republic cruiser with adroit hands. "Never."

Jaune snorted softly as he rose from his seat and grabbed his blue helmet from the rack behind him where it normally rested. "You just like prodding the Rancor, don't you?"

"Maybe a little bit," the blonde snickered, giving the ship one last nudge before a muted _thunk_ was felt throughout the ship. "Whelp, we're attached. Let's go see the crazy Jedi lady, huh?"

The brunette laughed lightly as she hopped down and strode out of the bridge. "I'll go get my gun," she called out over her shoulder, P3-NY wheeling rapidly after her.

"Suppose I should too," Yang mused as she rose and stretched. "Um, hey, Jaune?"

" _Elek?_ " the Mandalorian queried, his voice now filtered through the electronic modulator of his helmet as he checked the blaster in his holster.

"Thanks for sticking up for me and, y'know, getting me back in the pilot's seat. It means a lot." She shot him a somewhat sheepish smile. "Don't quite feel like myself anymore if I'm not flyin', so… Yeah. Thanks. Um… _Vor entye._ "

" _Ba'gedet'ye,_ " he replied solemnly. "You're welcome, Yang."

_**Myrtenaster** _ **Central Lounge**

The three armored warriors, along with the blonde pilot and two astromech droids, stood by watching the efforts of their diminutive brunette mechanic as she worked. Ruby's upper torso was concealed within the panel set next to the secondary airlock by a mess of wires.

"Almost got it!" she called out cheerfully. " _Annnd_ … There we go! Give it a try, now!"

Weiss gave a soft grunt as she tapped on the main holoterminal, stepping back to wait for the call to be answered. Soon enough, the same Cathar Jedi appeared, though looking a bit more disheveled than before.

"Well, this is unexpected," she began quietly, her translucent form wavering slightly. "Did you attach your ship's power to ours?"

"We did," Weiss affirmed. "Just enough to communicate."

"I can see that. Well, you have us at your mercy, so to speak. What would you like to talk about?"

"Your surrender."

"I see." The Jedi Master tilted her head slightly. "I have two others on board with me. I would like to ensure their safety."

Weiss let out a huff as she crossed her arms. "I imagine you're running out of air, so let me make this quick, _Jetii_. Any attempt at hostilities on board my ship will be met by copious amounts of lethal violence."

"Noted," she replied dryly.

"I will, for now, allow you to keep your weapons so long as you behave. I am trusting in the legendary honor of the _Jetii_ that you will keep your word on this, otherwise, you will end up in a force cage. _Ni dinu._ " At the slightly perplexed expression on the Jedi's face, she sighed. "That is… take it or leave it."

Nodding, the hologram folded her hands inside the sleeves of her robe. "I, Master Blake Belladonna, so do swear to ensure the peaceful behavior of myself and my companions while aboard your vessel." At an indignant _squawk_ that sounded from off-screen, she shot a look over her shoulder. " _All_ of my companions," she emphasized sternly. Facing forward once more, she offered a slight smile. "I appreciate your willingness both to negotiate so honorably with us, as well as… well, not leaving us to die, of course."

"Of course," Weiss repeated, ignoring the wide grin from Ruby. "We'll unlock the hatch on our end."

"And we shall do the same." With that, the hologram blinked out.

"We're taking a bit of a risk here, _vode,_ " Pyrrha noted mildly.

Jaune sighed, crossing his arms as he leaned against the bulkhead. "I don't have much experience with the _Jetii_ , just what I know from reputation, though… I think it will turn out alright."

Ruby glanced between the three armored visors uncertainly. " _Sooo_ … am I unlocking the hatch?"

After another moment's hesitation, Weiss nodded. "Go ahead… Ruby. _Gedet'ye._ Er… please."

"On it!"

Within a minute, the first of the Republic crew entered their ship. The figure was perhaps a bit shorter than Weiss and in the distinctive armor of a Republic Commando, white with colored accents. However, unlike the more common orange, blue, or green, this particular trooper's armor was highlighted in a vibrant pink. And on their back was an enormous rotary blaster cannon, alongside what looked to be a repeating grenade launcher, and finally, a blaster pistol holstered on their belt, gauntleted hand resting on it lightly.

"Clear," they reported tersely, voice filtered through the helmet much as the Mandalorians' were. "No ambush."

"Thank you, Nora," a melodic voice murmured from behind the commando. Blake appeared next, smoothly sidestepping the armored figure with a serene smile. "I am glad to finally meet you all in person. Before we progress any further, though, I must ask you something."

"Go ahead," Weiss replied mildly. Yang's gaze from where she stood to the rear of the assembled Mandalorians snapped over towards the Echani woman, picking up on a strange tone in her voice, even over the electronic filtering. As she did so, however, she also caught Ruby's open-mouthed stare from where she still stood next to the airlock.

"Oh, Rubes," she murmured under her breath. "You always gotta get hung up on the impossible ones, don'tcha?"

Movement by the airlock caught the blonde's attention once more as another robed figure came into view, this one a slim Mirialan. She idly noted both his long hair and the somewhat rebellious-looking magenta streak in it, wondering just what sort of Jedi they had managed to pick up.

"The reason for our interception of your ship," Blake was saying, "was a reported kidnapping of a pair of Republic citizens." She looked around, glancing first at Yang and then Ruby, though her eyes lingered on the latter somewhat. Under sudden scrutiny, the brunette snapped her jaw shut with an audible _click_ as she blushed furiously.

"It would seem, however," the Jedi continued, humor coloring her words, "that they do not appear to be prisoners of any sort. Would anyone be able to provide assurances that this report was false?"

Yang started in surprise when Weiss' visor swiveled towards her. "Um, yeah," the blonde chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck. "So, it kinda started out as a big misunderstanding, I guess? But no, we're all totally cool now. Best buds."

"We're crew now," Ruby chimed in. "I'm the engineer, Yang, that's my sister over there, she's the pilot."

"I see." Blake gave Yang an impressed nod. "That was truly inspired flying earlier. I suppose I should begin the introductions, in any case, yes?"

"Um, before you do…" Ruby was edging along the bulkhead so as to drift a little bit closer towards where the Mandalorians were standing. P3-NY remained in her shadow, quietly making little nervous trills. "Wouldn't it help if everyone, y'know… took off their helmets?"

"An excellent suggestion. Nora?"

"Oh, fine," the trooper grumbled, reaching up to unclasp her helmet. Once removed, a round face framed by short orange hair was revealed. Though there were laugh lines around her eyes and she had the look of a perpetually cheerful person, at that moment her turquoise eyes were glinting dangerously. "I still don't trust any of them."

"I know, dear." Blake faced the rest of the crew once more. "This is Trooper Nora Valkyrie of the 32nd Republic Commando Corps, permanently assigned to me as… well, both bodyguard and insurance that I behave."

"Like I really need to do either," Nora snorted softly, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth as if she was finding it difficult to remain in a sour mood. "I'm just along for the adventure."

"Ain't we all?" Yang and Nora shared a tight grin, while Blake gestured the other Jedi forward, who gave the room a solemn bow.

"And this is Lie Ren, my apprentice."

Weiss sighed audibly once the opposing rounds of introductions were complete. "Right. _Buy'ce_ off."

With that, the three Mandalorians removed their helmets as one. Jaune placed his on the seat next to him, while Pyrrha rested hers on the holoterminal. Weiss simply clutched hers in front of her with both hands, shaking out her long white ponytail.

"I'm Weiss," she began shortly. "My _vode_ here are Pyrrha and Jaune, and then we have our Corellian sisters…"

"Ruby Rose, at your service!" the brunette chimed in pleasantly, her earlier flustered expression eased now. "Oh, and this little cutie here is Penny, and this is my sister Yang Xiao Long and her droid, Zwei."

"A pleasure," Blake murmured, peering more closely at the bubbly mechanic. "You… have silver eyes."

"Um, yep!"

"How interesting."

Ruby chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of her neck as her blush returned in full force from the scrutiny. "Ah-heh heh… Yeah, I suppose, kinda rare, huh?"

"Might I ask a question of my own?" Weiss interrupted, the tips of her own ears pink for some reason. Yang carefully hid a smirk behind her hand. _Maybe the big bad Mandalorian is gettin' a bit jealous of the attention?_

"Certainly," the Jedi Master replied evenly.

"This… report you received, of the kidnapping. Where did it originate from?"

Amber eyes blinked in curiosity. "From what I understand, Nar Shaddaa."

At that, Weiss' face contorted into a scowl. "I knew it. That _hu'tuun_ Xiong, I will eviscerate him the next chance I get!"

" _Hu'tuun?_ " Ruby murmured curiously to Jaune.

"Means a coward."

"Well, that doesn't sound so bad…"

"It's actually the worst insult a Mandalorian can give someone."

"Oh." Ruby chuckled lightly. "Gotcha."

"I take it you already had a run-in with this particular character?" Blake asked, humor dancing in her amber eyes.

" _Elek_ ," Weiss spat out, gripping her helmet furiously. "And his _gett'se_ will be crushed by my _kom'rk_ , I swear it!" With that, she raised her gauntlet up and made a fierce squeezing motion with it at eye level.

Ruby looked questioningly towards the blond Mandalorian, who in turn looked to be decidedly queasy.

" _Lek_ … Er, _gett'se_ , it means… testicles."

"Oh. Oh!" Ruby giggled at that. "Wow, sounds painful."

"It will be," Weiss muttered before visibly pulling herself together. Pyrrha gave her a soothing pat on her armored shoulder.

" _Udesiir, vod,_ " the redhead murmured with a slight smirk.

"My apologies," Weiss finally sighed. "Yes, this man was our former client, at whose bequest we did secure these two as bounties. And then he double-crossed us. We received no payment."

"I see," the Jedi Master murmured. "Hmm… an interesting situation, indeed. Some decent-minded Jedi might still consider a crime to have been committed."

"And you?" the platinum-haired woman returned, one eyebrow raised elegantly.

Blake's smirk widened. "I've never been accused of being a decent Jedi," she stated humorously. "In any case, if we might be so allowed, our baggage is just inside the airlock…"

"Yes, of course." Weiss started forward to help, and after a second's surprised hesitation, both Pyrrha and Jaune followed suit. "We have a larger bunk room with Ruby and Yang, you and the trooper can fit in there, while Jaune here has a double. Ren will have plenty of space."

"And I thank you once again for your hospitality."

Weiss paused inside the derelict cruiser, glancing around at the darkened interior and giving the stale air a disdainful sniff before hefting a duffle bag as if it weighed nothing. "What planet would you like to be dropped off?"

"Hmm." Blake remained at the entrance to the ship, her gaze flickering between Weiss and, curiously enough in Yang's opinion, the Corellian brunette. "Actually… perhaps we might accompany you for a while? See where our travels take us. I can provide recompense for our accommodations, of course."

The Echani woman seemed to almost trip while crossing the airlock but caught herself in time. "O- Oh? _Elek,_ er, yes, that'd be… Well, there's no need for that, I'll just… er… put these in the quarters, then…"

Her smirk unabating, Blake followed on her heels, trailed by the other two Mandalorians and the Mirialan Jedi. Ruby, as well, curiously headed in their wake.

ZW-31 gave a confused tweedle from Yang's side.

"Yeah, I dunno, buddy, she doesn't seem like any Jedi I've ever come across or heard of…"

"Oh, she's not," a cheerful voice piped up. The blonde glanced over to see the trooper now standing next to her, turquoise eyes studying her carefully but with a humorous twinkle in them now. "Blake's not like any Jedi I've ever worked with before."

"Oh, yeah? How so?"

"Well…" Nora turned and glanced down the hallway before lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I joined up with them about three years back, just a couple of missions, first with my squad, and then just me, since I'm, y'know, awesome like that… But anyway, since I've known her, she's had a couple of… Well, let's just call them relationships."

"Oh, really?" Yang's eyes lit up with the juicy bit of gossip. "Like, physical ones?"

"Mmhmm."

"Huh." She crossed her arms and shared a wide grin with the orange-haired woman. "This journey just got a whole lot more interesting."

**Nar Shaddaa**

Hei "Junior" Xiong leaned his elbows on the bartop, sighing heavily. Overall profits were still down, with the gang wars escalating throughout Nar Shaddaa there was plenty of opportunities, but also plenty of competition. The legitimate business at his club was booming as always, but the real credits were always in the information brokering and smuggling.

While the former was doing well enough, the latter was decidedly… lackluster. One after another, the crews he contracted out to either dropped out of sight, whether retired or removed or sold out to his competition. Culminating with the complete kark-up by his last, seemingly promising and trustworthy, crew.

"Kriffing Corellians," he sighed into his mug of Lomin ale. "Last time I hire any from that Hutt-forsaken planet."

At least he was rid of them, now, and his reputation secured. His face soured somewhat as he recalled the disaster that his little ambush turned out to be. "Last time I contract out to any Mandalorians, either," he grumbled.

His latest effort, though, in closing up untidy loopholes should return better results. Better yet, they couldn't be traced back to him. Given the enmity between the Republic and the Sith, siccing the Jedi on those troublesome bounty hunters was practically a sure bet.

In any case, there was no point in following up any further on the matter of those irritating sisters, he had a business of crime to run.

Just as he set his mug down to return to his datapad, though, his head swiveled at a commotion by the entrance. As there shouldn't be anyone foolish enough to come by when the club was closed, at least not without announcing ahead of time, he gestured curtly to his exiled Devaronian bodyguards. The twins gave him a brief nod and moved towards the front door to check on the disturbance.

As soon as they reached the shadowy alcove, twin searing bars of crimson light came to life, flashing outward. Neither Melanie nor Miltia had the chance to even make a sound before their upper halves were separated from the rest of their bodies, slowly dropping to the floor with meaty _thuds_ , before the lights vanished once more, leaving only bright motes in his retinas.

Junior was frozen in shock as one of the shadows detached from the wall, revealing itself to be a black-robed Twi'lek woman with mint-green skin. He gulped in fear at the evil grin she wore as she gracefully sauntered forward, reaching up to pull her hood back and allowing her _lekku_ to hang forward from her shoulders, the twin tails twitching with eager anticipation.

_Oh, vape, a Sith..._

"Hei Xiong," she purred darkly. "Rumor has it you had a run-in with a certain girl… a girl with silver eyes…"

* * *

 _Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance):_  
 **Yang Xiao Long** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, talented pilot, and droid tinkerer.  
 **ZW-31** \- Yang's custom astromech droid.  
 **Ruby Rose** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, skilled mechanic, and gun nut.  
 **P3-NY** \- Ruby's astromech droid.  
 **Lady Salem** \- Rattataki female. Sith Lord and advisor to the Emperor.  
 **Lady Cinder Fall** \- Human female. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Darth Hazel** \- Sith Pureblood male. Sith Lord Warrior.  
 **Darth Tyrian** \- Zabrak male. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Emerald Sustrai** \- Twi'lek female. Sith Marauder.  
 **Mercury Black** \- Human male. Sith Warrior.  
 **Weiss Schnee** \- Echani female from Eshan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Pyrrha Nikos** \- Human female from Alderaan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Jaune Arc** \- Human male from Mandalore. Mandalorian bounty hunter trainee.  
 **Hei "Junior" Xiong** \- Human male from Tatooine. Gangster and information broker.  
 **Melanie Malachite** \- Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
 **Miltia Malachite** \- Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
 **Blake Belladonna** \- Half-Cathar female from Cathar. Jedi Master.  
 **Lie Ren** \- Mirialan male from Makeb. Jedi Apprentice to Master Belladonna.  
 **Master Ozpin** \- Human male from Coruscant. Jedi Master and Council Member.  
 **Nora Valkyrie** \- Human female from Ord Mantell. Republic Commando.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** Been nice knowing ya, Junior… Side note, the "Zwei, cold one" line is a direct homage to the X-Wing series of Star Wars novels featuring Wraith Squadron. I have always wanted to use it.
> 
> Stay shiny!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5  
** **Taris Orbit  
** _**Myrtenaster** _

Blake hummed to herself thoughtfully as she slowly walked through the pristine corridor of the ship she had found herself a passenger of through rather curious circumstance. As she did so, the Jedi reflected upon the fact that the Force certainly was an interesting guide in her life.

She'd always been a bit of an outlier from most of her fellow Jedi. Certainly, none could fault her dedication to the betterment of the Republic, nor her mastery over the Force. Her views on such matters as the Jedi Code, however, were cause for some… _contention_ among her peers. Enough so that she found herself relegated to working far from most 'civilized' planets such as Coruscant.

The raven-haired Cathar paused at the threshold of the spacious central community area, a wide, open space with several couches and chairs, not to mention a nice view of the planet they were orbiting, courtesy of several portholes. Her longtime traveling companion, Nora, was locked into an intense game of Dejarik, the high-quality holographic pieces glowing brightly as they advanced across the game board. Her opponent, the blonde Corellian pilot, grimaced slightly as her crimson K'lor'slug was pounced upon by the trooper's long-armed sapphire Savrip. At her prosthetic elbow, a black astromech droid with white markings watched with interest.

"Shavit," Yang grunted irritably. "I know I said I wanted a challenge, but do ya really need to wipe the board with me?"

The orange-haired woman grinned widely, turquoise eyes sparkling with mirth. "Can't keep up, don't step up, blondie," she snarked. Nora was, unusually enough, devoid of her typical pink-accented blast armor, instead wearing a form-fitting grey and pink jumpsuit.

ZW-31 helpfully supplied the chances of his creator's winning based upon the pieces left on the table, earning him a half-hearted, wordless glare in return.

Blake carefully hid her grin at the interactions between the two seemingly very different women. They'd somehow, over the past two days, become fast friends, but she didn't need to push any feelers through the Force to see that there was something more there, a subtle energy underlying their conversations. Idly, she wondered if the pair of them were even cognizant of their mutual attraction.

She smoothly glided into the room, sticking to the perimeter as she took her time crossing the area. The blond Mandalorian, Jaune, was sitting in a corner and working on his helmet, the only piece of armor he'd divested himself of. He looked up and gave her a friendly smile and nod which she returned.

On the other side was her apprentice, Ren. She didn't even need to look in his direction to know he'd noticed her approach, though he was quietly meditating atop the couch situated there. She changed course and sauntered over towards the lanky Mirialan.

"You do remember," she drawled casually to the green-skinned man, "that they set aside a small chamber for us to meditate?"

"I do, Master," he replied evenly, not opening his eyes. "I simply prefer the energy here."

"So be it," she laughed quietly. Her amber eyes scanned the room slowly. "Curious there aren't more here," she mused.

"Ruby is in the engine room," Ren replied calmly. "And Weiss is upon the bridge."

Blake turned back towards him, one elegant eyebrow raised. "And what led you to believe I was looking for either of them in particular?"

At that, Ren finally cracked his eyes open, regarding her levelly without speaking. She chuckled, raising a hand in defeat.

"Fine, so you already know me well enough to read me."

"You could always look for them through the Force, Master."

"Are you the student or the teacher, now?" Blake inquired humorously as she moved past him.

Ren smirked ever so slightly. "You shall always be my master," he intoned quietly. "And I shall forever be your impudent student."

The Cathar snorted softly, shaking her head as she entered the corridor leading towards the bridge. Her apprentice could have done far better than being stuck with her, shipped off towards the shavit-end of the galaxy, but she was always grateful for his calming presence. At times she felt that she was the one relying on him to keep her attuned to what the Force was telling her.

Though she'd never admit to it. A Jedi Master had to maintain a certain decorum, after all, even if it was transparently obvious to master and student alike.

Passing by the hatchways to the small yet well-equipped medical bay and then the pair of rooms where the two Mandalorian women berthed, she could feel the presence of that particular duo through the Force. Soon enough, her sharp hearing began to pick up on their quiet conversation on the bridge.

Unabashedly, she paused and leaned up against the bulkhead, the furry ears atop her head twitching slightly.

"How long do you intend to linger here, _ner vod?_ " she heard the redhead, Pyrrha, murmur.

A sharp exhale preceded Weiss' response. " _Haar'chak_ , I don't know. This whole situation is all sorts of _shabla_ , first our missing contact, and then…"

"The _Jetiie._ "

" _Lek_. Her."

As Blake tilted her head to the side to hear better, she picked up on Pyrrha's soft, enchanting giggle. "Oh, _vod_ , I wasn't just speaking of just her, you know…"

"I… You… _K'uur!_ "

" _Elek_ , dear. You have to admit, though, you've been rather… off. Ever since our little silver-eyed _ad'ika_ came aboard, and now even more so with this _Jetii_ …" Pyrrha paused consideringly. "Are you… _Vod?"_

"What?" Weiss muttered. Blake laughed to herself softly, even without trying she could feel the embarrassment radiating off of the shorter Mandalorian woman.

The redheaded woman cleared her throat before speaking again, her tone one of gentle bewilderment. "The _both_ of them, _vod?_ "

Blake jumped slightly at the sharp _bang_ that sounded from the bridge, evidently from a gauntleted hand slamming into something unyielding. She glanced around worriedly, but nobody was coming to investigate.

"Careful, Weiss, you might upset our little mechanic if you break something…"

" _Haar'chak_ , _vod,_ I don't know what's wrong with me!" Weiss exclaimed, ignoring her partner's admonition. "I'm like… like a _shabuir_ teen in heat!"

"Well, it _has_ been some time…"

"We agreed not to discuss that," the platinum-haired woman warned gratingly.

" _Elek_ , _ner vod_ …"

Deciding that she'd lurked long enough, Blake pushed away from the wall and started forward, purposefully knocking against a loose terminal interface outside the medical bay. "Permission to enter the bridge, Captain?"

Red-faced and sputtering silently, the alabaster-armored woman turned around to momentarily face out the viewport. "Don't call me 'Captain', Master Belladonna," she mumbled irritably.

"We don't really use rank here," Pyrrha explained gently, as usual covering for her partner's lapse in calm. " _Weiss'ika_ is the owner, nothing more."

"Pyrrha…" the other Mandalorian growled.

" _N'eparavu takisit_ ," the redhead grinned unrepentantly, holding both hands up in apology.

Blake tilted her head curiously, one eyebrow quirked. "Please, call me Blake." Left unasked was the curious phrasing each woman had used.

With a sigh, now that she'd turned back around, Weiss proceeded to explain. " _Weiss'ika_ is a… well, affectionate nickname from when we knew each other as teens," she stated, her demeanor once again restored, at least on the surface. "Any name can be used such… Yours would be a bit different due to the syllables, but essentially _Blake'a_ would be 'Little Blake'"

"I see," she replied humorously, taking another tentative step towards the other woman. "And… what was it Pyrrha said?"

" _N'eparavu takisit_ , an apology… Literally, 'I eat my insult'," Weiss responded, swallowing. Her eyes were ever so slightly widened as Blake took another small step towards her. "Was there… something you… needed... Blake?"

 _Oh, the number of inappropriate responses I could make to that…_ "Yes, actually," she answered evenly. "May I assume we will be leaving the orbit of Taris soon?"

"Er, yes, I'm fairly certain if my contact were available he would have answered my hails by now…"

"Very well. Might I then have use of a holoterminal to reach the Jedi Council before we leave the range of the satellites here? I would like to apprise them of the situation, and ensure the kidnapping report is closed to everyone's satisfaction."

" _Elek_ , of course," Weiss nodded rapidly. "I can make the one in the conference room available to you immediately. We'll wait until after dinner to head towards our next destination, is that acceptable?"

"Perfectly acceptable," Blake assured her, taking one more step, just about reaching the edge of the platinum-haired woman's personal space. She worked very hard to keep the grin off of her face at the quiet _eep_ that the shorter woman uttered, though, to her credit, she stubbornly refused to take a step back herself. "And where will that be?"

"Er… pardon?"

"Our next destination?"

"Oh! _Elek_ , er, yes, we'll be moving on to Nar Shaddaa once more… there are a few _aruetii_ I can speak with to obtain further jobs…"

"And perhaps inflict violence upon one individual in particular?"

Weiss raised an eyebrow, mimicking Blake's expression. "Shouldn't you be opposed to such actions, _Jetii?_ Particularly in regards to a citizen of the Republic?"

The Cathar woman shrugged gracefully. "I've often been told I'm not a very good Jedi." She inclined her head, leaning over into Weiss' space ever so slightly. "I thank you for your kind consideration, though."

"Of course," Weiss replied breathily. "Er… anytime…"

Blake turned, giving a small grin towards where Pyrrha was leaning up against the navigation console. The redhead's face matched her hair as she muffled her laughter behind both hands. Tears of mirth were streaming down her face.

And she allowed a small chuckle to escape as she exited the bridge while Weiss turned upon her partner in outrage.

" _Nar'sheb_ , Pyrrha! Not a single word!"

"I didn't say a thing, _vod_ …" she wheezed in reply.

" _Nar'sheb_ _!_ " Weiss repeated, the fierce scowl evident just in her voice.

"Oh, yes," Blake murmured to herself as she re-entered the common area. "This will be a very interesting journey indeed."

"It usually is with you, Master."

Blake graced her apprentice with a smirk as she glided past him. " _Nar'sheb_ , Ren."

"Yes, Master."

Just on the other side of the common area, before the aft bunk rooms was a rather well-equipped conference room. It had a long, elegant table with a dozen comfortable chairs ringing it. A holoterminal was inset into the middle of the table, the lights glowing softly in standby.

She gracefully lowered herself into a chair in the middle of the table with her back to the doorway, leaning over slightly to tap in a code long since memorized. After only a handful of seconds, testament to the powerful hyperspace relays the Republic had put into place orbiting Taris, a translucent figure came to life, about a quarter of normal height and hovering over the table.

"Well, well," Ozpin murmured, resting his hands on the cane in front of him. "If it isn't Master Belladonna."

"Master Ozpin," she replied levelly with a slight incline of her head. "So good of you to answer my call immediately."

"Well, unlike some of my wayward former apprentices, I do tend to have a modicum of manners."

"I've heard it helpful to treat such unruly apprentices with a firm hand," Blake mentioned glibly. "Of course, if you were referring to me, you would already know I was a lost cause. Not to mention a special case."

"But of course," the grey-haired Jedi answered with a faint smirk. "I do happen to have news for you, but I would like for you to make your report first, please."

Nodding agreeably, Blake settled back in her seat and folded her hands inside the sleeves of her robe. "I arrived at the planet Taris where my sources advised me the target would be. After a short but unfortunate space battle, my cruiser was rendered a floating inoperable wreck. I and my associates were subsequently picked up by this Mandalorian crew, ascertained that the kidnapping report was, in fact, false, and are now flying with said crew for an indeterminable amount of time."

Ozpin stood motionless for the space of a good minute after the raven-haired woman's recitation finished before reaching up and pinching the bridge of his nose. She was once again successful in suppressing a grin at the familiar exasperated expression on the old Jedi's face.

"Blake…" he began softly, before stopping himself and shaking his head ruefully. "Not a dull parsec is traveled by you, my padawan."

"I have not been a padawan for some time, Master Ozpin," she reminded him archly.

"Sometimes I wonder if you ever grew out of the phase… Very well." He sighed and straightened his posture. "So the _Gambol Shroud_ was a total loss?"

"For one, I am impressed you remembered the name of my ship," she replied with a slow grin. "Secondly, however, you do recall what a piece of shavit that ship was, to begin with, do you not?"

He gave her a half-hearted glare at her casual profanity. "Master Goodwich personally selected your ship-"

"Which is all the verification I needed that the woman detests me," Blake interrupted smugly.

"The Jedi do not… _detest_ ," Ozpin rebuked mildly.

"As you say, Master. Obviously, I am mistaken and Master Goodwich gave me such a derelict museum piece out of a desire to better my survival and engineering skills."

"Blake…" he sighed gently again, looking off to the side before shaking his head and returning his gaze to her once more. "If you would just take me up on my offer…"

"Tempting as it is to become the Jedi Order's first Spymaster," Blake deadpanned, "even if only to relish in the howling protests of my peers, I have the feeling there are a number of Council members vehemently opposed to the idea. Shall I name them for you?"

"No, Blake," he replied heavily. "It is just that this peace we have is such a tenuous thing. I can feel the echoes in the Force, war will revisit us all too soon. Your numerous sources would be of enormous assistance."

"When that time comes," she stated, her tone once more gentle, "I shall serve as I always have, from the shadows where I belong. Now, what was your news, Master?"

"Very well. The source of the kidnapping report, a certain Hei Xiong, was found butchered in his place of employment by Jedi resources when they went to follow-up. All of his immediate associates were found in a similar condition."

Blake unfolded her arms to bring one hand up, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Method of dismemberment?" she asked probingly.

Ozpin lowered his head slightly. "The wounds were consistent with those of a lightsaber."

"So, the Sith have intervened." The Cathar frowned slightly. "Coincidence?"

"I am unsure whether it was or not… but watch your back, Blake."

"I always do," Blake grinned. "May I ask one more question of my own before we end this call?"

"Of course."

She sighed, leaning back again and folding her hands on top of the table in front of her. "One of my new traveling companions," she began softly, "is a Corellian girl, a girl with… silver eyes…"

"Did you say 'silver eyes'?"

Blake regarded him sharply. They'd known each other for many years, long enough even for the Cathar to perceive his tells. "Yes, I recognized something in her, something that the Force recognized, at least… You know, don't you?"

Ozpin nodded wearily. "By any chance, is her last name Rose?"

"Ruby Rose, that is correct."

"I knew her mother," he murmured, a far-off look in his eyes. "She was a brilliant, powerful Jedi, could have risen to become the best of us all, so much potential…"

Blake licked her lips. "What happened?" she murmured.

"She forsook her oaths to start a family," Ozpin finally finished abruptly. "She fell in love with a Corellian man and disappeared without a trace some time ago."

"I see. And her name?"

"Summer Rose."

The Cathar Jedi nodded slowly. "Thank you for this information, Master. Am I allowed to disseminate any of it, regarding either Xiong or the former Jedi Rose?"

"Feel free," he stated dismissively. "Was there anything else?"

"No, Master Ozpin. Be safe, and may the Force be with you."

"And with you as well, Master Belladonna. Do let me know if you run into any more trouble."

She grinned tightly as she leaned over to disconnect the call. "I always do… eventually…"

With that, the image blinked out and she sat back once more, a thoughtful look on her face.

The crew of this ship, the _Myrtenaster_ , was certainly both varied and fascinating. Additionally, she was rather intrigued with her own immediate response to both the platinum-haired Mandalorian and the brunette Corellian. With the first, the attraction was undeniably physical, though she'd never been with an Echani before she'd certainly met a few in her travels. Proud, combative, and undeniably physical, Weiss was precisely the type of being she'd be attracted to.

With Ruby, however, there was something altogether different. Something tugging at her, an almost physical sensation that went beyond her admitted cuteness.

And speaking of which…

"You know," she drawled quietly. "Most beings consider it rude to lurk."

She grinned to herself at the startled _yelp_ from behind her in the doorway to the conference room. The raven-haired woman also did an admirable job of ignoring her own actions mere moments before outside the bridge.

"S- Sorry!" Ruby stammered as she came into view, holding her hands behind her back bashfully and followed by P3-NY. "I didn't mean to stare- I mean, uhhh…"

"It's quite alright, Ruby," she chuckled, waving her to a chair across the table from her. "Was there something I might assist you with?"

"Umm…" The brunette sat down with a _flop_ , her little tan astromech droid circling her briefly before wheeling back outside the room once more. She shifted nervously, adjusting the sleeves of her black jumpsuit that were tied around her waist.

Blake gave her a soft, reassuring smile. "Go ahead, Ruby. Take your time."

"Oh, well, I don't want to, y'know… bother you or anything… I just…" Inhaling sharply, the diminutive mechanic finally blurted out, "I wanna know about Jedi!"

"Er… Anything in particular…?"

"Well…" Ruby sighed, lacing her fingers in front of her to keep them from fidgeting. "I think… Okay, so, I'm pretty sure… that my mom was one…once... I mean, from the stories my dad used to tell me after she… left…"

"Mmm." Blake regarded her closely. "I was actually just speaking with my old Master regarding this."

"You were?"

"Mmhmm." She briefly explained what little she'd found out from Ozpin, leaving the other girl grinning widely and her silver eyes shining brightly.

"I knew it! Wait till I tell Yang!"

"So, you said your mother… left…?" the raven-haired Cathar prompted gently.

"Oh, yeah." Just like that, and much to her disappointment, the brunette's good mood evaporated. "So, some time ago, back when we were… well, I was about twelve, I guess… Anyways, she went out to the Rim to look for something, or someone, I think… But she never came back. And then, when Yang was eighteen and I was sixteen, dad finally took off looking for her… He kinda changed after she disappeared, sadder, y'know? Always said he'd track her down." Ruby shrugged morosely. "Never seen either one since. Me an' Yang, when I hit eighteen, we sold everything off on Corellia and scrounged up enough credits to buy the _Ember Celica_."

"That was your old ship? The one that crashed?"

Ruby nodded with a small smile, confirming the tale of her past before the sisters boarded the _Myrtenaster_. "Yep, that's the one. Don't really have anything now, though…" Her eyes flickered up to the top of the other woman's head before settling resolutely on her face.

Blake tilted her head, regarding the sweet brunette girl with a smile of her own. "Yet, you seem to have found a place here on board this ship."

"I guess." She shrugged again. "But for how long?"

The Cathar Jedi's smile turned a bit mysterious. "Well, you never know. It is always a good idea to make the best of whatever opportunity you are given. Who knows, you might just get more out of the situation that you anticipate."

"Yeah…" Ruby nodded slowly, her eyes drifting upward again, but this time they seemed to rest upon her furry ears, somewhat entranced.

Now Blake grinned as she gave her feline ears a flick which made the brunette jerk slightly. "Was there anything else?"

Ruby blushed and jumped out of her seat as she realized she'd been caught staring. "N- Nope, I'm good, um, thanks!" With that, she turned and fled from the chamber.

Or she would have, had she not tripped over something and landed on her face with a resounding _crash_. The brunette immediately leapt back to her feet with a nervous smile and unabating blush, giving the Jedi a sloppy salute. "I'm good!" she repeated, before racing out and towards the engine room.

Laughing softly, Blake peered around the side of her chair at the squawking tan and black droid now tilted on its side. She flickered her fingers, using the Force to right an indignant P3-NY on her wheels once more.

"Do not mind your maker, little one," she smiled. "She's a bit… well, buggy, at the moment."

P3-NY beeped sagely, having seen her master in such a state numerous times before. Somehow always tied to another organic of the female type and of supposedly pleasing physicality. The little astromech didn't quite understand it, but she'd go check on Ruby in any case.

"You do that, then," Blake laughed, turning back and shaking her head as P3-NY departed.

"Yes, indeed," she finally murmured to herself. "This will be a _most_ interesting journey."

_**Myrtenaster** _ **Conference Room**

With the increasing number of persons aboard her ship, Weiss decreed that the conference room would now be used to take meals as a group, prepared in the nearby galley. Blake noted the surprised looks that both Jaune and Pyrrha gave her, obviously more used to eating when and where they pleased.

There was plenty of room around the spacious table, in any case, allowing Yang to prop her artificial right arm up and to the side as she tinkered with some setting with a tiny hydrospanner in her grip and a look of concentration on her face. Her sister entered the room, a plate of steaming nerf meat with purple vegetables in each hand. As she set one dish in front of the blonde, she frowned briefly.

"Is that my tool?" Ruby asked querulously.

" _Mayyybeee_ ," her sister drawled, unconcerned.

"How many times I gotta tell ya, Yang, those tools are for guns only!"

"Yup," she grinned in response, setting the tool aside and flexing both arms over her head. "An' these are the best guns of all." She gave each bicep a kiss, grinning at the groan and eye roll it elicited from the brunette. Blake, though, smiled at the brash Corellian's ridiculousness, while Nora openly chortled as she shoveled food into her mouth.

"Hey, blondie," the trooper eventually began once she swallowed her mouthful. "How'd you get that, anyway?"

"What, the arm?"

"Yeah, I mean, if you don't mind talkin' about it…"

"Nah, not at all." Yang settled back and took a sip from her mug of Lomin ale. "So, me an' Rubes, we've been to some pretty crazy planets in our time, pickin' up cargo from all sorts of unsavory characters…"

"We might have met the type," Weiss interjected dryly. "Once or twice."

"I imagine so," Yang chuckled, unperturbed as to the interruption. "So, this one planet we touched down on, got swampland covering a good half of the place. Of course, the client wanted us to put down in the middle of one. And, of course, he was late to the meet.

"So there we are, two Corellians and a pair of droids, sittin' in the dank swamp when I figure we should at least check the perimeter of the landing area, right?"

"A sensible precaution," Pyrrha murmured around her own mug, emerald eyes twinkling.

"I'm trudging through the muck and all, when I got jumped, right outta the blue." Yang leaned over, her lilac eyes skimming over the rapt audience. "A Gundark."

"No," Nora breathed, wide-eyed, at the mention of the large, fearsome predatory animal.

"Yup. So I draw my sidearm, aimed it right at his ugly face when he chomps down." Yang made a sharp snapping sound with her teeth, causing both Nora and Jaune to jump slightly. "Took my whole kriffing arm off, blaster and all."

Nora smacked a hand over her mouth in horror before dropping it once more. "What did you do?" she breathed, awestruck.

"Well, I was in no condition to fight any, but he was happy enough with his snack and let me crawl away."

"And did you ever track him down again?"

Yang grinned widely. "How d'ya think I got my nice leather coat?"

The entire dinner table went quiet at the declaration as Yang graced them all with a beaming smile.

"You are so full of shavit," Ruby finally snorted into her mug of blue milk.

"What?" the blonde retorted in mock outrage. "How could you insult me so, sister of mine?"

"'Cause you're full of shavit. 'Sides, Gundarks are only found on Vanqor, everyone knows that, and there's no swamps on Vanqor."

"Brat."

"Nerf-herder."

Simultaneously, the two siblings stuck their tongues out at each other before dissolving into giggles. Most of the crew laughed along with them, though their antics caused a wistful expression to appear on the face of the platinum-haired ship's owner.

"Weiss?" Blake prompted gently once the laughter had died down somewhat. "Do you have any siblings?"

"I do, yes," she admitted, pale blue eyes downcast. "We're not… close."

"Why not?" Ruby piped up in concern.

Weiss offered the brunette a small smile before returning her attention to her plate. "Our household growing up was a bit… cold. Distant. Both my older sister and my younger brother entered Imperial service eventually, from what I hear, though I ran away from home at an early age."

"Smuggled herself onto a transport heading for Mandalore," Pyrrha interjected with a fond smile. "We first met at the spaceport, the both of us tired and hungry… yet so desperate to prove ourselves."

"They were good times," Weiss chuckled. "And hard ones."

"So, really," Yang interjected next, "you could consider Pyrrha, here, your sister."

"I already do," the smaller Mandalorian replied, perplexed. " _Aliit ori'shya tal'din_."

"Family is more than blood," Pyrrha nodded. "It's a Mandalorian phrase that ties us all together as brothers and sisters, _vode an_. To be a Mandalorian is to have a very large family indeed."

"I don't miss my blood relations much," Weiss murmured. "Not terribly often, anyway."

"What about you, Blake?" the brunette Corellian broke in. "Um, do you know anything about your, y'know… parents?"

"Ruby!" her sister admonished quietly.

"No, I didn't mean… Oh, well, yeah, I guess as a Jedi you wouldn't know about that." Ruby hung her head dejectedly. "Sorry."

"It's quite alright… _ad'ika_." Blake glanced over towards the Mandalorians. "I said that right, yes?"

"You did," Pyrrha smiled, though Weiss seemed to bury her face back in her plate again to cover up her grumbling, intent on finishing her food.

"In any case, while I do not know the precise identities of my parents, I do recall for certain that my mother was Cathar and my father Human. Hence my mixed heritage."

"Noticed your fur was a lot lighter on your face," Nora commented. "Never thought to mention it, though. Knew a Cathar based on Ord Mantell, he was covered in orange fur, head to toe."

"Oh really?" Yang smirked.

"Really," Nora smirked back.

Ruby groaned and put her head down. "Ugh, do we have to go there at the dinner table, guys?"

Blake smiled to herself as she watched Weiss once again slide her gaze over towards the brunette when she was distracted, only to snap forward when Ruby would look her own way. For her part, the diminutive mechanic would flicker her eyes back and forth, never lingering long anywhere but inevitably making their way back to observe the equally short Mandalorian.

And then the Jedi picked up on the smug amusement from across the table, where Yang was silently chuckling to herself. _So I'm not the only one who has noticed the two of them..._

The perceptive raven-haired woman gleaned another source of longing, though, one centered around the redheaded Mandalorian. Her emerald gaze would sometimes linger on her blond compatriot, though she'd never give him undue consideration. Pyrrha hid her nervousness well, but through the Force, it screamed like a beacon.

_So many currents, so many possibilities… Were I an opportunistic woman, I might take advantage of that._

_Or perhaps just allow the Force to guide me as it always has…_

Blake glanced around the table as the assembled crew ate their meals, occasional joking barbs tossed about as if they'd been flying together for many parsecs.

 _Maybe the Force could use a little nudge every so often,_ she finally decided smugly.

**Dromund Kaas**

In her darkened chambers, Lady Cinder sat with uncharacteristic calm upon her throne-like chair. It was a perfect replica of her Master's, right down to the stitching on the fabric, save that it was reduced in scale by several millimeters. It was also a perfect representation of her outward subservience yet underlying impudence and lust for power.

She was Sith, after all, and the only advancement opportunities to be found were over the bodies of her superiors.

The staccato of her nails against the armrest was the only sound to be heard over the dull hum of machinery. A monitor across the room flashed reports from her agents across the galaxy, some within the Sith Empire, some within the Galactic Republic itself, but many more on worlds either neutral to the conflict or contested by both parties.

Some were even her Master's, yet secretly working for her.

Among all of her resources, two stood out prominently. Brash, coldly ruthless and efficient, Mercury would be the perfect Sith were it not for a lingering resentment of authority. He bent to her will easily enough, through earned respect and a sense of obligation, but ever since she'd taken him on as an apprentice she had to be very careful of who she allowed the boy to interact with within the Imperial Capital. His actions reflected upon her, after all.

Eventually, as was sometimes the case, his indiscretion might outweigh his usefulness, but that time was a long ways off.

And then, of course, there was the hotly loyal and fierce Twi'lek girl, Emerald. Taken out of slavery and raised to heights of undreamed-of power, the poor girl deluded herself with feelings of love towards her new Master. Cinder smiled cruelly at the thought, it made her so very malleable in her hands. Yet, with her skill and guile, she was often her most promising hound once set upon a trail.

At this moment, she waited for word from one or the other of her apprentices. They often were at each other's throats, competing for her approval. It was the Sith way, feeding the tension between the pair until it boiled over, causing the victor to be all the stronger for it. The Dark Side was a harsh crucible, but one that certainly returned undeniable success.

Her musings were interrupted by a blinking light on the holoterminal before her. The smile on her face grew into a pleased grin as she saw who it was calling her.

After a moment, she flicked a finger towards the control, using the Force to depress the button in order to answer the call.

"Emerald," she purred at the small, wavering holographic figure before her. "What news do you have for me, my sweet?"

"Master," the green-skinned Twi'lek breathed, adoration etched into her face. "I have found some success. The report from your agent on Nar Shaddaa was correct, the gangster did indeed have dealings with a silver-eyed girl."

Cinder sat back as her apprentice related all she had discovered, including a name, but frowned slightly when it was revealed who would likely be in possession of her target at that point in time.

"Ruby Rose…" she drew out once Emerald was finished as if savoring the taste of the name upon her tongue. "You have done well, my apprentice."

"Where shall I go now, Master?" she inquired, lekku twitching in anticipation. "The trail from here is cold, and with both the Jedi and Mandalorians involved…"

"Yes, the situation has become somewhat trickier." Cinder pondered the situation briefly, a slow smile growing on her face. "Well, the solution, for now, is an easy one. The best way to track a Mando… is to send a Mando."

She sat upright, regarding the Twi'lek woman fondly. "You have done well. Return to Dromund Kaas for now and stand ready while I report to Lady Salem."

The transmission ended as the figure dipped into a low bow, the raven-haired Sith Lord reclining back in her seat once more.

"I almost have you now..." she purred darkly. "...Ruby Rose…"

* * *

 

 _Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance):_  
 **Yang Xiao Long** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, talented pilot, and droid tinkerer.  
 **ZW-31** \- Yang's custom astromech droid.  
 **Ruby Rose** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, skilled mechanic, and gun nut.  
 **P3-NY** \- Ruby's astromech droid.  
 **Lady Salem** \- Rattataki female. Sith Lord and advisor to the Emperor.  
 **Lady Cinder Fall** \- Human female. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Darth Hazel** \- Sith Pureblood male. Sith Lord Warrior.  
 **Darth Tyrian** \- Zabrak male. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Emerald Sustrai** \- Twi'lek female. Sith Marauder.  
 **Mercury Black** \- Human male. Sith Warrior.  
 **Weiss Schnee** \- Echani female from Eshan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Pyrrha Nikos** \- Human female from Alderaan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Jaune Arc** \- Human male from Mandalore. Mandalorian bounty hunter trainee.  
 **Hei "Junior" Xiong** \- Human male from Tatooine. Gangster and information broker.  
 **Melanie Malachite** \- Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
 **Miltia Malachite** \- Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
 **Blake Belladonna** \- Half-Cathar female from Cathar. Jedi Master.  
 **Lie Ren** \- Mirialan male from Makeb. Jedi Apprentice to Master Belladonna.  
 **Master Ozpin** \- Human male from Coruscant. Jedi Master and Council Member.  
 **Nora Valkyrie** \- Human female from Ord Mantell. Republic Commando.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** The plot thickens… as does the shipping…
> 
> Stay shiny!


	6. Chapter 6

**En Route to Nar Shaddaa  
** _**Myrtenaster** _

Weiss sat on the edge of her bed, hands gripping her armored knees as she stared at the deck. "What the _shab_ is wrong with me?" she breathed, brow furrowed in confusion.

It was unlike her to be so… discombobulated. The Echani woman had always been hard, focused… resolute. Not one to engage in a fancy for a mesmerizing pair of silver eyes… or amber ones, for that matter…

Groaning, the platinum-haired woman put her face into her palms, grinding them against her closed eyes. Such introspection was unlike her as well, she knew who she was and she'd left all of her uncertainty behind on Eshan as a young girl, all of her self-doubt and inadequacies and…

With a growl, Weiss abruptly leapt to her feet, scowling at the mirror across from her rather generously-sized bed. Her quarters were perhaps a bit more luxurious than she'd have preferred, with its own head and sink, but she was beginning to slowly appreciate the merits of having her own space.

The mere thought of having to share living arrangements with both Ruby and Blake was enough to make her heart race, eliciting another scowl.

With a sigh, she leaned forward onto the sink, staring hard at her reflection. Pale, almost luminescent skin, framed by hair as white as her armor. Gazing back at her were the light blue orbs common among Echani, though the scar that bisected her left eye still left her conflicted.

As a Mandalorian, it was a badge of honor. As an Echani, it was a mark of weakness.

Weiss sighed once more as her eyes slowly sagged closed. " _Ca'nara ne gotal'u mirjahaal. Shi gotal'u haastal,_ " she murmured wearily.

_Time doesn't heal. It only forms a scab._

Next to her on the bulkhead, the intercom crackled to life. "Weiss, _ner vod_ , come to the bridge, _gedet'ye_ ," her partner requested. "You need to see this."

She reached over and slapped a button. " _Elek,_ " she responded shortly before exiting her room.

The bridge itself was a few meters down the corridor, and as she entered only Pyrrha and Yang were there, the blonde glancing between the two of them curiously from the pilot's seat. Behind her, the viewport was filled with the bright streaks of stars as they traveled through hyperspace. The redheaded Mandalorian stepped back, gesturing wordlessly towards the holonet terminal.

Weiss narrowed her eyes as she read the missive that had been put out across Imperial channels before closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. " _Haar'chak,_ " she cursed bitterly under her breath. "Yang, a moment, please?"

"Sure thing, boss-lady," the Corellian cheerfully replied as she jumped up and strode off of the bridge.

"Stop calling me that," Weiss entreated after her irritably. Her only answer was an unrepentant snicker.

"If you would stop responding," Pyrrha murmured, her emerald eyes twinkling with humor. "She'd stop teasing you."

"Don't know why I put up with it," she grumbled in reply. "So when did this go out?"

"Just this morning, Galactic Standard Time," Pyrrha stated. The crimson-armored woman crossed her arms, frowning in concern. "Will you tell them?"

Weiss didn't even hesitate in nodding firmly. " _Elek._ They're crew, now."

As she reached for the intercom, Pyrrha nodded as well. "Sounds like a permanent arrangement," she grinned.

Blushing slightly, Weiss glanced away. "Perhaps." She flicked the switch for the ship-wide channel to address the others.

"All hands, assemble in the common area, _gedet'ye_. Er, please."

The two Mandalorian women strode into the main area to find everyone already there, looking up at them expectantly. Pyrrha gave her shoulder pauldron a reassuring thump with her fist before she moved to stand against the bulkhead behind her.

Watching her back as always.

Without preamble, Weiss folded her arms in front of her and began to speak in a quiet but arresting tone. "We came across an Imperial notice on the bounty board. It was tagged as issued from the Imperial Citadel itself, which almost guarantees visibility. It calls for the capture of a particular brunette girl with silver eyes." Her gaze riveted on the Corellian mechanic, who had visibly paled. "It lists you by name, Ruby."

"Oh, shavit," Nora breathed, her turquoise eyes wide.

Yang leapt to her feet from where she'd been lounging on the couch next to the trooper, shielding her sister with her body. "So what are we gonna do about it?" she demanded, arms crossed and fiery challenge in her lilac eyes.

" _Pakod_ , easy, Yang," her fellow blond murmured, resting his hand on her shoulder. "No harm will come to Ruby."

Weiss nodded in confirmation. "You are my crew, now, and as such, under my… our… protection." She visibly resisted the temptation to step forward and gather the trembling brunette girl in her arms and offer further reassurances. _Not now,_ haar'chak!

"Allow me to include my own support," Blake added with a low murmur. "As a Jedi, I will not allow you to be taken."

"Again," Yang grumbled under her breath, earning her an elbow to the ribs as Nora got to her feet.

"Yeah, don't even worry about it, Ruby!" the trooper cheered. "You got a whole bunch of badasses looking after you!"

"Yeah, okay," Ruby sighed, rubbing her hands along her face. "Thanks, guys, everyone, this is… Well, it's kind of a shock, I guess… Um, did the bounty say _why_ they wanted me?"

"Or exactly who it was that put out the bounty," Ren murmured from his perch at the small table in the center. "The Citadel is a large building, housing the Sith upper echelons, Imperial Intelligence, the political offices of the Moffs…"

The Mirialan looked around at the stares he was receiving. "What?" he asked, perplexed.

"Er… don't take this the wrong way, _Jetii,_ " Pyrrha began gently. "It's just that… we've not heard you talk at length before."

"I think that's actually the first time I heard his voice," Ruby stage-whispered.

Ren shrugged wordlessly, causing his master to chuckle.

"My apprentice is a man of few words," Blake interjected smoothly, "but he has the right of it. We need to know the who and the why."

"Indeed." Weiss paced back and forth as the rest of the crew settled back down again. She paused, sending a suspicious glance at the frosty bottle of what looked to be Corellian ale in Yang's hand, not recalling having brought any on board. "So…" she began slowly. "We're heading for Nar Shaddaa. I have a number of contacts we might utilize in the city."

"Likewise," Blake nodded. "Perhaps we should compare sources?"

"Er, _elek_ … Yes, we can do that," the platinum-haired woman mumbled, cursing herself for her renewed bashfulness. She turned abruptly, heading aft for the conference room. "Come," she ordered.

"Of course," Blake murmured as she glided in her wake. The sultry undertones of her voice sent shivers beneath her armor, and she suddenly wondered if it was such a good idea to be alone with the alluring Cathar woman…

 _**Myrtenaster** _ **Conference Room**

"You have a most impressive list of contacts on Nar Shaddaa," Weiss murmured, her brow furrowed at the listing on the terminal in front of her. No names were given, of course, merely codes and locations, sometimes including occupations. She paused at one, a dockworker. "This one here, a Twi'lek, _elek?_ "

"That's right," Blake murmured from her side.

She suppressed the involuntary blush that threatened to spread across her pale face. She'd gotten better at doing so after the first dozen times since they'd sat down at the conference table.

"Brell T'chata?"

"Ah, you know him, then?"

Weiss nodded with a smug smirk. "One of mine. An Imperial asset, actually. _Ga ru hodar_ … Er, that is, I'm afraid you've been duped."

"Mmm." Blake peered at her from only a few centimeters away, a rather subtle smirk on her own pale, lightly-furred face. "So it would seem."

The Mandalorian narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "You turned him?"

"Mmhmm."

" _Haar'chak_ ," she chuckled, shaking her head. "I'll have to cross him off my list, then."

"No need, merely give him my name and he will deal with you in good faith."

" _Elek_." Weiss hummed, making a quick notation on her own list before sitting back with a sigh. "It's rather remarkable that was our only overlap."

"Perhaps. Or the Force is merely assisting us at protecting our _ad'ika_."

With a chuckle, Weiss stood, eager to put a little bit of space between the two of them once more. "Interesting you call her that as well."

Blake nodded, remaining in her seat, though her amber eyes glowed with a certain intensity that took her breath away were she to stare overlong. "It seems a fitting nickname."

Nodding herself, though a bit distractedly, Weiss walked towards the end of the conference room and stared out the small porthole there at the white streaks of the stars flowing by. "How long will you stay with us?" she asked with rehearsed casualness.

"Mmm." She could see the Jedi in the reflection as she leaned forward, chin resting on her open palm. "Are you desiring of my company, still?"

Fortunately, her fierce blush was mitigated by her back being towards the Cathar woman. "You must admit," she responded, perhaps a bit sharply, "it is a strange alliance we have here. Between a Mandalorian and a _Jetii_."

"Perhaps. Is it my status as a Jedi or as a… what was the phrase you used… Ah, yes. An _aruetii?_ " Blake's reflection smiled at her back. "Which bothers you more?"

"Neither," Weiss replied shortly, finally turning back around. "You are substantially different from any _Jetii_ I have ever come across, however, and it… You confuse me."

"I am sorry if I have caused you distress," the Cathar responded, inclining her head slightly. "I am indeed rather unlike most Jedi. I have… substantial problems with portions of the Jedi Code. How Force-sensitive children are removed from their homes, for example." She leaned forward, this time cupping her cheek with a palm as she regarded Weiss levelly. "I also find no reason to abstain from emotional and physical connections with other beings."

"You… You don't?" Weiss gaped.

"Indeed. I've found the path to the Dark Side is paved with negative emotions such as fear, hatred, envy… So long as a Jedi restrains oneself to the more positive ones, such as happiness…" A slow, predatory smile grew on Blake's face. "Even love… I believe it only makes one stronger with the Force."

The platinum-haired woman licked her lips uncertainly. "I can't imagine such views make you popular within the Jedi Order…"

Blake snorted softly as she sat back once again. "No, the Council disagrees rather vehemently as a whole, hence my current assignment to the outer planets of the Republic." Another smile crossed her face, this one a bit mischievous. "Interestingly, Ruby had the same reaction when I revealed my beliefs."

"I can only imagine…"

"So… Weiss…" Blake smoothly regained her footing, gliding forward a step. "Was there… anything else we might… discuss?"

" _Nayc_ ," Weiss squeaked breathlessly, rapidly backpedaling. "Er, no, we're… good, I'll just… go do… things."

She turned, knowing her face was likely a bright red by this point, and strode from the room, the softly-laughing Jedi following in her wake. The Mandalorian paused in the common room to take a few deep breaths, and as such caught the conversation between the Jedi and her apprentice just at the edge of her hearing.

"Well," Blake mused softly. "I believe things are going quite well, so far."

"You should not tease so, Master," Ren advised.

His words elicited a low, pleased laugh. "Who's teasing?" Blake replied, the smirk evident in her voice.

With that, Weiss fled the rest of the way back to her room.

" _Haar'chak, haar'chak, haar'chak…_ " she grumbled to herself irritably.

 **Nar Shaddaa Orbit  
** _**Myrtenaster** _

They arrived at their destination late at night, both ship and local time. Rather than find a berth and pay for the extra hours, Weiss elected to remain in orbit until the following morning. The crew was, for the most part, getting ready for bed and quietly conversing in the lounge as the ship's owner made her final rounds.

The problem came about when Weiss was notified by Jaune that the _Myrtenaster's_ shields had been worked on earlier by their mechanic, whom the Mandalorian woman was quick to confront in the common area of the ship.

"What did you do?" Weiss asked querulously.

Ruby was put off by her tone at first but then stepped forward, her chin jutting out stubbornly. "I got the shields recalibrated, the frequency now rotates at irregular intervals. That way an enemy ship's sensors can't lock the pattern down to hit us with an ion blast at the right moment to fry our circuits."

The smug brunette crossed her arms with a smirk after her declaration, waiting for approval that was not forthcoming.

"You made a major change to my ship!" Weiss protested, her voice becoming more shrill. "Without asking!"

"And it works!"

"But this is my ship!"

"And it's my place to keep it running and safe!" Ruby declared hotly, her voice rising to match the Echani. Almost all of the crew members were assembled in the common area by now, most of them watching the uncharacteristically enraged pair with open-mouthed expressions.

"And you should have asked me first!" Weiss demanded.

"Well, excuse me for doing my job!"

Blake was the last to arrive, taking in the scene with a sigh. "That's quite enough," she interjected softly when both women had paused to take a breath. With one hand, the Cathar Jedi flicked a side door open with a _whoosh_ of pneumatics, revealing a small storage room. Again utilizing the Force, she made a curt gesture with the other, and the pair of squabbling women were unceremoniously picked up and dumped into the room with resounding squawks of protest.

The raven-haired woman turned to face the incredulous audience. "We'll just be a moment in conference," she murmured before entering the closet and sealing it behind them.

There was a moment of stunned silence from the common area before four sets of eyes slowly swiveled over to stare at Ren.

The Mirialan simply shrugged. "You get used to it," he advised nonchalantly as he headed towards the meditation room further aft.

Inside the closet, while the Corellian and Mandalorian struggled to right themselves from their involuntary tangle of limbs, Blake calmly lowered herself into a sitting position on the floor in front of the door. She waited with her hands folded in her lap and a placid smile on her face.

"That was mean, Blake," the brunette protested once she was fully disengaged, though she still struggled to fix the arms of her jumpsuit around her waist once more.

"I wholly concur," Weiss bit out, crouched on one knee. "That was heavy-handed, even for a _Jetii_."

"Weiss." The Cathar woman let one hand drift out and made a subtle easing motion. "Please, sit. We should all talk."

"Lot more comfortable places to talk," Ruby grumbled, though she remained seated as Weiss joined her. The three of them faced each other, a worried brunette, a platinum-haired bundle of discontent, and a raven-haired epitome of serenity.

"Before we begin," Blake murmured quietly. "Do remember that I am a Jedi. You cannot lie to me. I will know what you are feeling."

" _Everything_ we feel?" Ruby squeaked with a blush.

The Jedi inclined her head slightly. "Perhaps not… everything. But we can at least discuss this matter freely and with no deception. Nothing will leave this room unless we desire it to. Are we agreed?"

"Yeah, okay."

" _Elek._ "

"Very well." She turned her amber gaze upon the fidgeting petite mechanic. "Ruby. You have very strong feelings for Weiss."

The reactions from the two were a study in contrasts. While Ruby blushed hard enough to match her tattered red tanktop, from her neckline up to the tips of her ears, Weiss managed to pale even more than her usual alabaster complexion.

She allowed the brunette a few moments before prompting once more. "Ruby?"

"U- Um, I- I- I mean…"

"Ruby."

With a sigh, the Corellian girl buried her face in her hands. "Yes," she squeaked out, muffled.

"Just as you have very strong feelings towards myself as well."

Unable to even speak further at this point, Ruby simply nodded rapidly.

Next, Blake turned her attention to the Mandalorian woman who was licking her lips nervously. "Weiss, you have very strong feelings for Ruby, do you not?"

To her credit, the platinum-haired woman did not back down, instead drawing her posture erect. " _Elek_ , I do," she responded with a wavering voice.

"And for myself."

Weiss briefly chewed on her bottom lip, glancing down at the floor before her cool blue orbs met Blake's own gaze. " _Elek_ ," she repeated in a whisper.

Ruby was staring at the other woman now, slack-jawed, but jumped slightly when Blake leaned forward to rest a hand on each of their knees.

"I assure you, the feeling is mutual," she murmured. "I have been strongly attracted to you both ever since I laid eyes upon you."

There was a moment of stunned silence before Ruby broke it. "What…" She paused, clearing her throat to dispel the squeaky quality of her voice. "What does that mean?"

"It means," Weiss murmured thoughtfully, her narrowed gaze riveted on the Cathar, "that we are all attracted to each other. It means that, potentially, we could all entertain a relationship with each other."

"Precisely," Blake sighed as she sat back, a small, satisfied smile on her face.

"Th- The three of us?" Ruby breathed, her silver eyes wide. "Oh, wow, that's so cool... " She closed her eyes in exasperation as soon as the words left her lips. "I just said that out loud, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did," Blake chuckled. "Though I do feel the same way."

"As _kandosi_ as that may seem," Weiss ground out. "How can I believe you? Either of you, for that matter?"

Ruby glanced away, a slightly hurt look on her face, but Blake gave her knee a reassuring pat. "Patience, _ad'ika_ ," she murmured as she rose to her feet. She held a hand down towards the proud, brittle Mandalorian woman. "Weiss?" she offered gently.

With a distrusting frown, Weiss accepted the help up. Standing even with her armored boots on, she only came up to the Cathar woman's eyebrows. Still, that close to one another, the warmth in Blake's eyes made her intentions very clear, particularly as she brought her free hand up to cup a pale cheek while the other kept its grip on her hand.

"May I?"

Weiss took a deep breath. She was an Echani, a race of proud warriors. She was Mandalorian, a culture of fierce and fearless champions without peer in the galaxy.

She was not one to back down from a challenge.

Nodding slightly, her pale blue eyes wide and dilated, she reflected upon that fact that, right there and then, none of that seemed to help keep her racing pulse under control.

Ever so slowly, Blake leaned down. Blue and amber eyes eased shut as soft lips caressed each other, tentative at first, seeking further approval before pressing with far more confidence. As first kisses went, it was far from the fiery battle of wills that might have been expected. Instead, it was… respectful. Reassuring.

A meeting of equals.

That didn't stop Weiss from gasping lightly once the kiss was broken, leaning back with a dazed look on her face. The robed woman in front of her was replaced without her noticing, and now she was gazing into nervous pools of silver.

"Um…" Ruby glanced down, wringing her fingers together anxiously. "C- Can I… I mean, um, I'd l- like to…"

"Ruby," the Mandalorian woman interjected gently. She was unsure why she'd ever doubted the brunette's motives, she wore her heart out on her sleeve like nobody Weiss had ever known. They were practically at an even height with their boots on, and she slipped her ungauntleted hands around the mechanic's waist. With an _eep_ , Ruby was pulled closer, gripping Weiss' upper arms for balance.

" _Elek,_ " Weiss murmured softly. " _Gedet'ye_. That is... please."

Nodding slightly, Ruby leaned in, her eyes dancing about the other woman's pale face. While Blake's lips were like velvet, the brunette's were soft and plump, almost perfect for kissing, as she'd involuntarily noted several times since the Corellians had boarded her ship. And then Ruby seemed to sag against Weiss' armor, a small, breathy moan issuing from her throat…

And Weiss simply melted.

Eventually, the pair parted with soft, bashful smiles, both slightly flushed from the experience.

Weiss cleared her throat, giving the brunette a gentle push towards where the grinning Cathar woman lounged against the bulkhead. "Your turn," she whispered.

Blake wasted little time in gathering the petite girl up in her arms, eliciting a _squeak_ that quickly turned into a rather needy little whine as their lips met next. Her senses overloaded, Ruby could hardly hold herself upright, but the raven-haired Jedi had no intention of letting her get away now that she was finally in her embrace.

And then the moment passed, Blake chuckling as she clasped a panting Ruby to her chest. The brunette's forehead rested on her shoulder as a wide grin grew on her face.

"So…" Ruby murmured, turning her head to glance over at Weiss who was staring at the pair, transfixed. "Are we… I mean… Um, the three of us? Like… together?"

"I think, at this point, that is safe to assume," Blake laughed lightly. The Cathar extended a hand towards where the bemused Mandalorian stood. "Any objections, Weiss?"

She gave herself a shake and accepted the proffered grip, stepping forward so that she might hold Ruby's free hand as well. "I suppose… _Nayc._ How can I refuse two such _mesh'la_ women?"

" _Mesh'la?_ " Ruby queried softly.

"Er... " Weiss blushed slightly, glancing down at the deck. "It means… beautiful."

"You think I'm beautiful?"

The platinum-haired woman let out a huff, though the corners of her mouth twitched. "Don't let it go to your head. You're already entirely too _copikla_ for your own good as it is." She rolled her eyes at the inquisitive noise the brunette made next. "Cute, alright? Too cute for your own good."

Ruby grinned widely and, without taking her head from Blake's shoulders, drew Weiss into an embrace that Blake gladly shared. "Aww, you're pretty _copikla_ too, y'know."

"I am Mandalorian," Weiss grumbled, the tips of her ears pinkening. "I am not… _copikla_."

" _Mesh'la,_ then?"

"...Fine."

Blake laughed softly as she gave their shoulders a squeeze, though Weiss likely couldn't feel it through her armor. "Well, then, my loves, we should rejoin the others before they find a way to break the door down."

"If I know Penny, she's already started a hack on the lock," Ruby giggled, leaning up to give the Cathar a quick kiss on her furred cheek. She turned and gave Weiss a peck as well before stepping back. "Right, then… Um, what do we tell everyone?"

"The truth, I suppose?" Weiss opined dubiously.

"I've found it to usually be the best course of action," Blake agreed, waving her hand at the door. The lock disengaged and it swished back, revealing a small tan astromech droid, tools extended.

One might be excused for attributing a particularly guilty glow to her green photoreceptors as she tweedled softly about merely checking for wiring faults.

"It's okay, sweetie," Ruby assured P3-NY, giving her a gentle pat on her domed head as the three of them stepped past. "See, I'm fine, we just had some stuff to work out."

"Speaking of which," a certain blonde pilot announced, pouncing on her little sister with an iron grip on her forearm. "Berightbackgottagobye!"

" _Yannnggg!"_ Ruby protested as she was unceremoniously hauled off towards the bridge.

"Think we'll see her again?" Weiss inquired humorously.

Blake smiled slightly. "I imagine so."

Another armored figure stepped forward, emerald eyes shining with concern. "Er, _ner vod_ … Is everything… _jate?_ "

The platinum-haired woman gave her partner a smile, one she shared with the worried blond man at her side. " _Elek, vode, jate._ We just, er… well, you see…" She cleared her throat with her fist to her mouth. Before she could finish, though, Pyrrha gripped her shoulder.

" _Kandosii!_ " the redhead cheered quietly and with a brilliant smile, eliciting a snort from the trooper standing in the background.

"What?" Nora demanded crossly, hands on hips. "What's going on, already?"

"Easy, Nora," Blake chuckled lightly. "We just-"

"YOU _WHAT?!_ "

The Jedi paused with a sigh at the bellowed exclamation from the direction of the bridge. "We're together, the three of us."

"You… Oh. _Ohhhh…_ " Turquoise eyes lit up with understanding, though they quickly began to twinkle with mirth. "Time to start running, then, huh?"

"We're in orbit," Weiss sighed, her brow slightly furrowed and arms crossed. "Not like we can avoid this."

Before any further comments could be made, a bristling blonde stormed her way back into the common room. She came to a stop before both Blake and Weiss, balled fists resting on her hips and murder in her lilac eyes.

"Whelp, been nice knowing you two," Nora giggled.

" _K'uur,_ you," Weiss warned out of the corner of her mouth.

"Right, both of you listen, and listen real good," Yang began hotly. "If either of you… and I don't care who you are or what you can do, if either of you ever hurts my baby sister I will space you out an airlock. We clear?"

"Er… _elek?"_ Weiss murmured, taken somewhat aback.

"I swear to you I shall do my utmost to care for her," Blake murmured with a respectful incline of her head.

The platinum-haired Mandalorian nodded rapidly. " _Lek_ , right, what she said… So… you're not… upset… about us being together? In a relationship?"

Mollified, Yang relaxed her shoulders and allowed a grin to creep across her features. "Eh, not really," she shrugged. "With as long as she's gone without any score, and now she manages to bag two girls at once? I'm actually impressed as all frizz she managed to pull it off."

Behind her, the soft noise of flesh against flesh sounded, Ruby slouched against the bulkhead and with her face in her hands. "Just kill me now," she moaned, mortified.

* * *

 _Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance):_  
**Yang Xiao Long** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, talented pilot, and droid tinkerer.  
**ZW-31** \- Yang's custom astromech droid.  
**Ruby Rose** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, skilled mechanic, and gun nut.  
**P3-NY** \- Ruby's astromech droid.  
**Lady Salem** \- Rattataki female. Sith Lord and advisor to the Emperor.  
**Lady Cinder Fall** \- Human female. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
**Darth Hazel** \- Sith Pureblood male. Sith Lord Warrior.  
**Darth Tyrian** \- Zabrak male. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
**Emerald Sustrai** \- Twi'lek female. Sith Marauder.  
**Mercury Black** \- Human male. Sith Warrior.  
**Weiss Schnee** \- Echani female from Eshan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Pyrrha Nikos** \- Human female from Alderaan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Jaune Arc** \- Human male from Mandalore. Mandalorian bounty hunter trainee.  
**Hei "Junior" Xiong** \- Human male from Tatooine. Gangster and information broker.  
**Melanie Malachite** \- Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
**Miltia Malachite** \- Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
**Blake Belladonna** \- Half-Cathar female from Cathar. Jedi Master.  
**Lie Ren** \- Mirialan male from Makeb. Jedi Apprentice to Master Belladonna.  
**Master Ozpin** \- Human male from Coruscant. Jedi Master and Council Member.  
**Nora Valkyrie** \- Human female from Ord Mantell. Republic Commando.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** Happy SWTOR Thursday! Whelp, there goes one ship, sailing out of the spacedock! Newspaper fans rejoice! Also, just to address a guest review - the Mandalorians themselves differentiate between genders, it's the language, _Mando'a_ , which has no male or female distinction. _Vod_ means brother or sister, _buir_ can be mother or father. I didn't make the language up, Karen Traviss did. Plus, as hopefully anyone who's read my stuff before can testify to, I am all about the gay. Case in point.
> 
> Stay shiny!


	7. Chapter 7

**Inbound to Nar Shaddaa  
** _**Myrtenaster** _

Weiss let out a huff as she maneuvered the last crate of spare parts against the bulkhead before straightening up and flipping her long white ponytail over her armored shoulder. She stepped back, nodding in satisfaction with her hands on her hips at the large clearing that now existed in the middle of the ship's cargo bay.

Under her feet, she felt a very brief and minute vibration signaling that the _Myrtenaster_ had set down on their designated landing pad.

The Mandalorian shook her head with a small chuckle. _I suppose for all her_ koteyc _,_ _Yang truly is_ jate _at piloting. Jaune has never set us down so smoothly._

Turning, she began to tug on her armored gauntlets, glancing aside to make sure the rest of her gear was in place atop another crate nearby. As she strode down the short corridor, voices began to filter towards her, indicating that the rest of the crew were assembled in the common area already.

_And what an odd crew it is_ _…_

She paused at the entrance while clearing her throat as several gazes swept her way. "Before we disembark, there is something I need to take care of." Weiss looked towards one particular Cathar woman who had left her emotions and thoughts in a jumble since the night before. "Blake, will you spar with me, _gedet'ye?_ "

The raven-haired woman tilted her head consideringly but didn't hesitate in rising from the couch where she'd been sitting next to the brunette mechanic. Another girl who'd been mixed in with her preoccupation, though at least with Ruby she knew where she stood.

Before anyone else could comment or move forward, she held a hand up. " _Gedet'ye_ … Please. I'd prefer not to have an audience."

Without further explanation, she spun on her heel and marched back the way she came. Unsurprisingly, a dark-brown head of hair with red-dyed tips sprang into her view, brow furrowed in concern.

"Hey," Ruby inquired softly as she walked alongside. "Are you okay, Weiss?"

"I'm fine, _cyar'ika_ ," she returned absentmindedly. "You may watch, of course. If you like."

"Ohhh, _cyar'ika_ , that's a new one!" the brunette grinned. "What's that one mean?"

"Er…" Weiss' gaze remained focused on the cargo bay ahead, a light blush creeping up her neck. "Darling, or… sweetheart. It is a term of… endearment."

"Neat!" With a giggle, the Corellian mechanic bounced over and left a quick kiss on her cheek before skipping over to a crate. Weiss was left stunned at the casual show of affection and with a much more visible blush.

Giving herself a shake, Weiss cleared her throat and glanced over at the amused Cathar standing by the entrance. "Normally," she began as casually as possible, "I would enjoy seeing in person what a lightsaber could do against a _beskad_ … Er, that's a Mandalorian saber forged from _beskar_ iron."

Blake nodded slowly, her hands folded in the arms of her sleeves. "I see. And do these _beskad_ hold up well against lightsabers?"

The Mandalorian nodded back with a smirk. "Historically, _elek_. In any case, I would merely like to… er… get your measure, if I may, so I brought training sabers for us to use." She gestured to the side where a pair of long hilted rods, a strip down each side that would be powered to give a decent shock upon impact, rested alongside her alabaster and light blue helmet.

"Can I ask a question?"

Weiss looked over towards Ruby who was… actually raising her hand with an inquisitive smile on her face. "Entirely too _copikla_ for her own good," she grumbled under her breath. From the light chuckle that Blake gave, it must have been audible enough for the Cathar. Instead of replying further, she gave the brunette a curt nod.

Ruby cleared her throat. "Um… Why, exactly, are we doin' this before we go out?"

The Mandalorian woman sighed softly as she picked up her helmet, staring at the Y-shaped visor. "I am an Echani by birth," she began slowly. "We are warriors, practically from our first steps. It is commonly accepted among… my people… that only through combat may one truly know someone fully." She smiled wryly. "A brief fight between two Echani would reveal more than hours of spoken conversation between them."

"I believe I understand," Blake murmured as she picked up one of the training sabers, giving it an experimental twirl as she stepped back. "You wish to know me much as I am able to know you through the Force."

"Perhaps even more thoroughly," Weiss agreed, tucking her long ponytail up into a bun with swift, long-practiced motions before securing her helmet and picking up the other saber. "We shall see," her electronically filtered voice continued. "Are you ready?"

"Of course," Blake conceded, smoothly entering into a two-handed defensive stance. "Whenever you are."

The platinum-haired woman lifted her saber into a left-handed high guard and stilled. She kept her HUD off to prevent any distractions. There was only her… and the Jedi.

Ruby, she was easy enough for her to understand, the girl wore her feelings right out there for everyone to see. Easy enough to comprehend her _kar'taylir darasuum_ … her affections for the Echani woman. But Blake?

While the Cathar was certainly atypical of any Jedi that Weiss had ever come across, she still had the same infuriatingly placid demeanor of those from her Order. Insufferably difficult to decipher.

But that would change within the next few seconds.

Suddenly springing into action, Weiss lunged forward, swiping laterally with her saber while keeping her right arm up and protectively before her. Blake took a half-step back, avoiding the weight behind the rush but still ably deflecting with her own saber.

_She's not as confident as she always projects._

Quick side-step and another series of strikes kept the Jedi on the defensive, though she could tell Blake was not just waiting for an opening, but feeling out her capabilities. It lasted only for a moment before the raven-haired woman swung her weapon around, batting away her blade and coming close to landing a strike at her midsection were she not already in motion, spinning out of the way with a dexterity that belied her armor.

_Overtly cautious but with a tendency towards impulsiveness. Is that what I am, what we are, an impulsive dalliance?_

At this moment, while wholly immersed in the sparring session and reading her opponent through her native intuition, she was no longer even thinking in _Mando'a_. She was once again Echani, and the Cathar woman before her was slowly becoming an open book.

_Assertive. Need for… dominance? But not controlling._ Weiss snorted softly at the smirk Blake wore when she caused the Mandalorian warrior to skip back, barely getting her blade up in time. _And she enjoys little victories, but not in a condescending way. More like… Oh, I see. She likes to tease, I should have expected that._

Side-step, whirl about using her right arm as a shield once more to block a quick strike, low sweep of the sword. Blake easily leapt over the attack, bringing her own saber down which was again blocked just in time. This wasn't about winning, Weiss knew that when it came to melee combat she was sadly outclassed by the Jedi, but those were the constraints she set upon herself. Still, what could have been a quick and decisive victory was becoming an extended bout, and not through her own efforts.

_She enjoys this, enjoys combat, but it's more than that - she likes the physicality, she likes the matching of wits, she likes…_

_She likes me…_

Weiss dropped her guard ever so slightly, enough that Blake was able to do a classic foot-sweep, taking her to the floor in a resounding _crash_ of armor. While the Jedi could have easily followed up with a debilitating strike, she did not, instead returning to a guarded stance, frowning slightly at the immobile white-armored form on the deck.

_She…_

"Weiss?" the raven-haired woman inquired softly, her practice weapon slowly lowering to point downwards. "Are you alright?"

The Mandalorian woman let her saber drop next to her with a clatter, reaching up to pull her helmet off. Once she was able to see again, she was unsurprised to view a pair of worried amber orbs hovering over her.

What _was_ surprising, however, was her blurred vision from the tears that threatened to escape.

"How?" Weiss whispered softly, almost desperately. "How can you possibly love me like that when you just met me?"

The lightly-furred features of the woman over her crinkled slightly in mirth, the feline nose upturned. "It's a talent of mine," she murmured. "I can usually see right to the heart of a person. As I did with you… and Ruby."

She blinked her eyes rapidly, unwilling to reach up and wipe at them. "Oh," she breathed, still rather stunned by the revelation.

Laughing softly, Blake leaned further down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. She eagerly reciprocated, her doubts and fears having slid away now that she knew this woman. Knew her wholly and indelibly.

Knew her love as surely as she knew her own armor.

Eventually, a constant, high-pitched yet subdued squealing intruded upon their consciousness. They smiled against each other's lips before breaking apart and glancing towards the side of the cargo bay. Ruby was sitting on her crate still, by sheer willpower alone, it would seem but practically vibrated in place with her hands clasped together in front of her mouth.

"Can I join in?" the brunette squeaked excitedly.

"Always, _cyar'ika,_ " Weiss laughed lightly, her spirits feeling unusually buoyed.

That good mood changed, of course, when she was tackled by the blur of black and red, causing a softly laughing Blake to collapse on top of her as well.

"You are both lucky my _beskar'gam_ allows me to breathe," she grumbled while working very hard to keep the grin off of her face as kisses were peppered along both cheeks.

**Nar Shaddaa**

Ruby thought her disguise was rather cunning, all things considered. Not to mention a bit dashing.

Of course, she wasn't trying to show off for her... girlfriends… or anything like that. Such behavior would be immature.

Still, she couldn't help giggling to herself as her newly acquired red cloak swirled about her while she tugged the hood forward once more. Under it, she wore her usual black coveralls, but with the top zipped up. Her customized and deadly little blaster sat snugly in her holster, as ready for action as she was.

Not that she really needed to be, of course, because she had rather awesome and deadly girlfriends accompanying her.

The brunette giggled once again softly at the thought. _Girlfriends_. What an odd experience, after all the time she'd tried, and failed miserably, at flirting or picking up girls across the galaxy… Here she was, dorky little Ruby Rose, with two amazing women who pretty much fell into her lap.

_Or did I fall into theirs?_ she wondered idly, strolling along the garishly-lit side street. Overhead, neon and holographic signs advertised everything from Lomin ale to private dances with willing Twi'lek girls while the street below was lined with scrap metal and refuse, not to mention more than a few huddled vagrants with thousand-meter stares.

Pyrrha paced along at the front of their little formation, blaster carbine held seemingly negligibly over her crimson-armored shoulder. Weiss was just ahead of the brunette, left hand resting on her holstered blaster while the other arm swung along easily, and her sister strode along unconcernedly at her side. Though there was some traffic sharing the causeway with them, and more loitering along the sides, none of them seemed willing to interfere with the pair of hardened Mandalorian warriors.

Or perhaps it was the subtle yet powerful presence of a robed Jedi at her back.

Back at the ship, Nora and Jaune had been engaged in a rather intense game of sabacc. Ren volunteered to remain behind, both to guard the ship and prevent any actual violence between the trooper and the normally placid blond Mandalorian.

The five women were on their way into the depths of the Hutt-controlled cityscape. The landing platform was some ways away, _Myrtenaster_ berthed at a distance out of both necessity and discretion. As a precaution, Weiss had given the trio of non-Mandalorians earpieces to wear, tuned to their frequency.

"I still don't see why you insisted on coming along," Weiss grumbled, her electronic voice managing to carry an undertone of fondness as she dropped back to walk in between the siblings.

Ruby puffed her cheeks out. "Because I wanna know what's going on," she stated stubbornly. The brunette peeked out from under her hood at the alabaster-armored figure striding along next to her. "Besides, I know you guys will protect me, right?"

"Er… _Troch_. That is… certainly." Weiss' helmet turned to the side as if searching for threats. "Too _copikla_ ," she murmured, almost too low to be picked up by the external mic.

"I heard that," Ruby giggled smugly.

"Did not."

"Did so."

"Children," Blake sighed with amusement from behind the pair. "I shall turn this airspeeder around."

Yang barked out a quiet laugh, giving Weiss' armored arm a thump with her artificial one. "You two… Frizz, you're adorable."

"Yang?"

The blonde smirked at the Mandalorian, entirely unaffected by the dangerous tone in her voice. "Yeah, boss-lady?"

Without breaking stride, Weiss extended her wrist blade with a _snikt_ of sound. "I can, and will, eviscerate you."

"O- Okay…" Yang murmured. With two quick strides, she was on the far end next to her sister now. "She's kinda scary, Rubes," she stage-whispered.

"Then stop irritating her, Yang," Ruby replied with the exact same tone.

"Ain't me, she's always this way."

"Not to me." Ruby's smug smirk was back fully.

"Well, I'm not willing to smack on her face to get on her good side…"

"I am right here, you know," Weiss interjected heatedly. "And still with the _kal_ … er, blade… Well, in any case, do not think I won't actually harm you."

"Weiss, love," Blake murmured. "Retract your claws, please."

With an audible huff, the blade vanished once again with a _snikt_.

"Thank you, Blake," the blonde Corellian grinned. "See, I knew one of my future sister-in-laws would want to get on my good side."

" _Yannnggg_ ," Ruby groaned in embarrassment.

"Actually," Blake stated levelly, "I merely prefer your piloting to Jaune's if the stories are true."

"Oh, they're true," Pyrrha called out cheerfully from her position on point. "Talented as he is in other areas, he's hopeless as a pilot."

"Talented?" Weiss repeated with a slight teasing edge to her voice.

"Er… _Lek_ _._ " The crimson-armored warrior faced forward once more, her pace quickening. "I believe we shall be there soon. Let's move a little faster, _gedet'ye_."

Yang let out a snort. "So, all I am is a pilot to ya? Fine, I see how it is…"

Weiss dropped back slightly in order to view the blonde as she turned her visor. "Yang…"

"Yeah, Weissy?"

_snikt_

"Uhhh I mean, Weiss? Yeah, Weiss?"

_snikt_

"I want you to know we do appreciate you, not just as a pilot, but… as part of our… well, crew, _troch_ , but more than that." Weiss faced forward again with a huff. "And not just because of your sister. I… _we_ … appreciate you being here."

Yang almost stumbled but managed to catch herself as she stared slack-jawed over Ruby's hooded head at the diminutive Mandalorian. "Wow," she finally breathed. "Shavit, Weiss, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

" _Elek_ , well, don't let it go to your head." She turned her visor towards Yang once again, and the glare was obvious even through the helmet. "I will still eviscerate you."

"Yeah, okay," Yang chuckled, strolling along with a much more relaxed gait. She'd gone without her coat for once, just an orange tanktop over cargoes as the air at this level was a bit on the hot and humid side. Much to the cloaked brunette's dismay. "So, these guys we're gonna talk to… They friends?"

" _Nayc,_ " Weiss chuckled. "Definitely not."

Pyrrha turned to the side slightly while still keeping pace ahead. "More like… acquaintances that would likely murder you for the right amount of creds."

" _Elek_ , that sort," Weiss nodded, her voice thoughtful.

Ruby audibly gulped, suddenly wondering if tagging along had been that great an idea after all. "Oh, well, sounds like fun," she grumbled sarcastically.

" _Udesiir_ , _cyar'ika,_ " her Mandalorian girlfriend murmured soothingly. "Relax. While the Migrant Merchants' Guild members aren't exactly friendly, we've dealt with them before. And there are vendors we might visit afterwards."

"Vendors?"

" _Elek_ , well…" Weiss coughed, clearing her throat in embarrassment. "Is that not the sort of thing one does for one's… _riduur?_ Er, that is…" She cleared her throat once more, the sound a harsh electronic buzz through her helmet. "Girlfriend?"

"Um…" Ruby shrank back in her hood further, suddenly embarrassed herself and knowing she was exhibiting a bright blush. "I think so?" she finally squeaked. "I mean… if you want to?"

Yang was trembling with the attempt to contain her laughter, which was likely the only reason Weiss had not once again threateningly extended her wristblade.

"I think that is a very nice idea," Blake murmured demurely. "The purchase of gifts is certainly a time-honored tradition among… _riduur._ "

" _Elek,_ " Weiss nodded decisively. "Then that is what I shall do for the both of you. Er… and actually, it would be _riduure_ ," she added, putting an emphasis on the drawn-out ending to the word. "That is the plural… Girlfriends."

"Duly noted," Blake smirked.

An amused snort was heard from the other side of the alabaster-armored Mandalorian. Though both Ruby and Weiss whipped their gaze around, only a small smirk was to be found on Yang's face, her lilac eyes twinkling with innocence.

Soon enough, their descent into the territory of the Migrant Merchants' Guild brought them off of the streets of Nar Shaddaa and into the interior buildings. The wide causeways gave way to corridors made for foot traffic, but little else of the general ambiance changed.

"Hey, Weiss?" the brunette murmured after some time had passed. "What's the deal with this Guild, anyway? Are they criminals or a gang or…"

Weiss shrugged her shoulders. "Difficult to tell, really, but they're a power player alongside the more recognizable gangs, like the Kintan Kings, or swoop gangs like the Hawkbat or Nashtah…"

"They're actually from Coruscant."

Weiss paused and gave Yang a look. "Really?" she prompted, somewhat incredulously.

"Uh, yeah, you don't know about these guys' origins?" The blonde shook her head with a grin. "Look, if ya wanna know about the underworld, just ask me first, yeah?"

" _Troch_ ," the platinum-haired woman returned levelly. "So?"

Clearing her throat, Yang took a quick glance around to ensure nobody was pacing them to overhear. "So, the Migrant Merchants' Guild… They rose to power during the last war, mostly nonhumans, on paper a legit trade consortium, talkin' big about refugee rights and rebuilding Coruscant, right? But when the lower parts of Coruscant rioted a short while back, mostly in the old Galactic Market, they took power the old-fashioned way." Yang shot them a wide grin. "After the cops withdrew, they moved in with their own forces and claimed territory. Givin' out food and protection but at a hefty price."

"Didn't we do a run for them once?" Ruby asked, her brow furrowed.

"Eh, sorta, more like we supplied a supplier for them." The blonde shook her head slightly. "But yeah, close enough, the goods got to them eventually."

"Then why are they here?" Weiss inquired.

"Whelp, the hotshots in charge decided to expand, moving into politics and the like." Yang swiveled her gaze around, obviously making note of the frequent patrols of nonhumans, all wearing blast armor in a dull green and carrying well-serviced blaster rifles. "This here is part of their expansion, goin' from a local power to a galactic one. Still the same old services provided, bribery and extortion and smuggling, just… more legit, now, I suppose."

"That was… very comprehensive and useful information, Yang…" Weiss murmured thoughtfully. " _Vor entye._ "

"You bet!" Yang replied cheerfully. "Um, wait, I remember this one… Oh, yeah! _Ba'gedet'ye!_ "

"We shall make proper Mandos out of you all yet," Pyrrha laughed gaily.

"Ohhh, does that mean I get my own armor?" Ruby chirped, bouncing in excitement.

" _Nayc,_ " was the short reply from Weiss.

"Awww, but Weiss… _cyar'ika_ …"

"Stop that."

Ruby shrugged, still grinning, though. "Eh, it was worth a shot."

"You, Ruby Rose," Blake murmured, amusement coloring her words, "are a very naughty girl."

She grinned wider, then blushed as all sorts of rather naughty responses she could make to that popped into her head. _No, no, behave, it's a little early for that…_ She gulped, burrowing further into her hood to conceal the even fiercer blush she knew was covering her face. _If ever… okay, maybe someday… Argh, no, stop thinking about it!_

The unrepentant giggles from behind her did nothing to ease her embarrassment. _Stupid Jedi Force mind-reading tricks…_ she grumbled to herself.

Finally, they appeared to reach their destination, a set of wide doors that were guarded by a group of ten men and women in the same blast armor that had been seen in the area so far. As they approached, one stepped forward, a male Twi'lek with deep cerulean skin.

"Hold up, there, bounty hunters," he stated firmly, hand outstretched. "You got business here?"

" _Elek_ ," the alabaster-armored woman replied shortly, stepping forward. "The name is Weiss, I'm expected."

"Yeah, okay, one sec…"

He stepped back, raising a hand to his ear as he seemed to communicate with his superiors. The others waited calmly, or at least as calmly as two heavily armed groups facing each other are able to. Within a few moments, the Twi'lek stepped forward once more, gesturing towards his associates. "Yeah, they check out, let 'em in."

The complex they entered was one of understated opulence, statues and paintings from far-off worlds displayed on the walls but nothing terribly gaudy or shining. The floors were lined with simple carpet and the paneling with unadorned common plasteel.

Soon enough, they were ushered into a warehouse-sized room, filled with crates and desks and a bustle of activity. In the middle of it, all stood a Devaronian male, dressed in black trousers and a bright red jacket which clashed horribly with his pale crimson skin. What was remarkable about him, however, were his tall horns that were dyed a brilliant blue.

As he noticed them approach, he stepped forward, arms open wide and an even wider, toothy smile on his face.

"Welcome, welcome," he smarmed, looking the visitors over. "How lovely to see our Mandalorian friends once again. Only, this time, you bring to us additional visitors... and such beautiful specimens they are…" He paused, bowing low. "But where are my manners? Gentlebeings, I am your humble servant, Neptune Vasilias, at your service."

"Hello, Neptune," Weiss sighed with a forced patience that was audible even with the electronic filtering. "Where is Gesalt today?"

"I'm afraid she is off-world on business, but I would be more than happy to assist." The Devaronian tilted his head, tapping a long-nailed finger beside his cheek. "That is quite the cybernetic enhancement, my dear, however did you come by it?"

"What, this?" Yang grinned glibly, stretching her artificial right arm over her head. "Well, I'm a cyberneticist, you know."

"Is that so?"

"Yup, been tinkering with the stuff most of my life… guess you could call it a passion, really." The blonde brought her hand down to face-level, rotating it with an admiring look. "Didn't take me long to figure out I just couldn't really appreciate workin' on cybernetics without havin' one myself, right?"

The Devaronian's red skin paled somewhat as his grin slipped. "Er… You don't say?"

"Yup!" Yang dropped her arm to the side with a giggle. "So, I just figured, out of the blue one day, to lop the thing off with a vibroblade and put my latest on. Perfect fit!"

" _Gedet'ye_ , tell me that isn't the true story," Weiss demanded weakly over their shared comm channel.

"Nope," Ruby murmured back. "She's full of shavit as usual."

Yang turned her head so that she might blow a raspberry into the comm mic on her shoulder, but their host seemed to recover soon enough from the grisly tale. "How... fascinating," Vasilias finally stated flatly. He turned towards Weiss with an almost palpable relief at ending the conversation. But not before peering knowingly in Ruby's direction, as if he could see past the shadows of her hood. The brunette let out a small _eep_ as she shrank back.

"So, then. Your missive stated something about a bounty, yes? One you would like more information on?" As he spoke, his other hand tapped out an irregular rhythm against his belt.

"Weiss, it's a trap," Blake broke in over their commlink. "He knows, somehow."

Sure enough, the number of armed Guild members seemed to be increasing exponentially, until there were perhaps fifty or more of the armored guards milling around them.

"Now, I can tell you only what I know myself," the Devaronian continued smoothly. "A girl with silver eyes… by the name of… Ruby Rose."

She tried, she really did. But at the sound of her name, spoken with such relish from the demonic-looking man before them, Ruby couldn't help but flinch infinitesimally. Still, it was enough to cause Vasilias to grin even wider.

"So, then, my Mandalorian friends," he stated darkly. "There is no need for violence, but I do want you to hand over the very adorable little girl under the red cloak. The bounty for her will go a long ways to securing the Guild's future here on Nar Shaddaa."

"Can't let you do that," Weiss returned shortly.

He sighed melodramatically. "Somehow, I figured you would say that."

In the blink of an eye, the room was suddenly filled with the sound of blasters being drawn and readied. Every single being had a gun out, pointing it with the intention of lethal violence.

All but one.

"You are making a mistake," a low, husky voice stated from behind Ruby.

Blake stepped forward, slowly lowering the hood of her robe and revealing her Cathar features. More importantly, her robe was parted to display the lightsaber at her belt.

"Jedi," Vasilias hissed. "This is not your place to interfere."

"Oh, but it is," she purred. "Have you ever been on the receiving end of an irate Jedi?"

The Devaronian gulped, his blaster pistol lowering ever so slightly, but didn't seem willing to back down.

"Blake, can you, y'know…" Yang whispered into the comms. "Do some kinda mind-control or something?"

"Sorry, not one of my talents," Blake whispered back. "But if this turns out the way I expect it to, you shall see where my talents lie. Ruby and Yang, make sure you stay close behind me."

Obediently, both of the Corellian sisters edged forward, while at the same time Weiss and Pyrrha drifted apart to take the flanks, their weapons held in steady hands.

Ruby wished she could be as brave as the others. Sure, she'd been in gunfights before, but nothing like this, not on this scale. Her slim customized blaster was held in a firm grip, but much to her chagrin, she couldn't stop her hands from trembling slightly.

Then the reassuring presence of Yang was pressed up against her as they went back to back. The familiarity of it calmed her down and even elicited a small grin of anticipation from the diminutive brunette. _Okay. I got this, I can do this…_ She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, lining up her shots as she waited for a signal to start.

"It matters not," the Devaronian finally exclaimed. "The girl does not leave the room."

"So be it," Blake murmured. With slow, deliberate motions, she pulled her lightsaber out and extended her arm. After a _snap-hiss_ of sound, a searingly bright amethyst blade extended to point right at Vasilias' heart. "I hope you are prepared to accept the consequences of your actions here today."

"Everyone, once the shooting starts, break right," Weiss ordered curtly over the comm channel. "Pyrrha and I will cover, then join you."

" _Elek,_ I have point," Pyrrha murmured calmly.

"Got it," Yang affirmed as well.

Ruby glanced over her shoulder to see where Yang was facing. There was a jumble of crates there and only a handful of guards who might be disabled easily enough so that they could seek cover. More importantly, there was a possible exit near enough that they could flee through.

Several things happened in rapid procession.

Vasilias screamed out, "Karking drop 'em!" before lunging behind a durasteel crate, barely avoiding Weiss' first shot, much to her displeasure if her snarl was any indication.

As Ruby began to open fire, slowly moving backwards and maintaining contact with her sister, the brilliant amethyst blade _swished_ overhead, batting aside incoming blaster bolts and, more often than not, returning them towards the sender.

Pyrrha opened up with her blaster carbine, levelly shrugging off the hits to her armor as she raked fire across the right flank. Green-armored guards dropped steadily, burnt holes through their foreheads or unprotected necks. As they approached the safety of cover, though, a sharp _bang_ was heard even over the whining blaster fire that lit up the cavernous room.

Out of the door near where they were headed came five towering, reptilian figures in heavy armor and brandishing a variety of melee and ranged weaponry.

"Are you kriffing kidding me?" Yang hollered, redirecting the barrage from her heavy blaster towards the newcomers. "Trandoshans?"

" _Shabuir_ bounty hunters," Weiss growled. "Don't get close to them!"

They were near enough to the cover, now, and Ruby made a break for it, sliding around the corner and resting her back against a crate while Yang vaulted in next to her, smashing her artificial fist into the helmeted head of one wounded Guild guard who was lying there. He collapsed face-first into the durocrete ground, motionless. The brunette let out a huff as she took a second to compose herself, but then her eyes widened as a figure detached itself from the shadows against the wall.

Another Trandoshan, this one with a cloaking device that shimmered out of existence as he grinned down at the pair of Corellian women at his feet, long vibroblade clutched in eager talons.

"Oh, shavit," Ruby squeaked.

Before the bounty hunter could approach further, a spinning bar of purple light impacted against his chestplate and staggered him backwards. Blake soared overhead, dark grey robes flapping about her legs as she deftly caught her lightsaber in mid-air and came down on the Trandoshan hard, slicing through his midsection and dropping him soundlessly. She was off once more, sprinting forward to intercept more of the reptilian bounty hunters who seemed intent on crashing the party.

"Yeah, okay," Yang huffed out, lilac eyes wide as she glanced over at her sister. "Your girlfriends are pretty kriffing awesome."

"Right?" she snickered, popping her head up and firing off a few more shots. She knew she hit at least one, but it served to make those trying to flank their position a bit more cautious.

Their comm channel crackled briefly before Weiss' voice came back across. "Jaune, come in, we're under fire. Lock the ship down."

" _Elek_ ," Jaune came back quickly. "Wait one…"

"Move your _shebs!_ " Weiss growled irritably. The alabaster-armored woman came into view as she fired steadily into a cluster of their opposition before extending her right arm. A small nozzle popped out, and from it flames erupted in a cone, causing those enemies near her to reel back, screaming.

"Uhhh, Weiss, we have a problem…" Jaune's panicked voice came back.

" _Osik_ ," Weiss snarled, her form hurtling past the pair of Corellian women. She fell to the floor in a clatter of armor just as a heavy ordnance projectile _whooshed_ overhead, detonating on the far wall. Yang quickly popped up and fired off a pair of shots, immediately rewarded with a distant cry of pain.

Panting through the comm channel, Weiss sat back up again and took a minute to recuperate. "What, Jaune?"

"Well, the droids… they, er… left. The ship, that is."

Even with blaster bolts hurling over their heads and the mortal danger they were all in, Ruby and Yang could only stare at each other, dumbfounded.

Their reaction was mirrored by Weiss, who took a few seconds before responding, the incredulous shock evident in her voice.

"They did _what?_ "

* * *

_Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance):_  
 **Yang Xiao Long** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, talented pilot, and droid tinkerer.  
 **ZW-31** \- Yang's custom astromech droid.  
 **Ruby Rose** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, skilled mechanic, and gun nut.  
 **P3-NY** \- Ruby's astromech droid.  
 **Lady Salem** \- Rattataki female. Sith Lord and advisor to the Emperor.  
 **Lady Cinder Fall** \- Human female. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Darth Hazel** \- Sith Pureblood male. Sith Lord Warrior.  
 **Darth Tyrian** \- Zabrak male. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Emerald Sustrai** \- Twi'lek female. Sith Marauder.  
 **Mercury Black** \- Human male. Sith Warrior.  
 **Weiss Schnee** \- Echani female from Eshan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Pyrrha Nikos** \- Human female from Alderaan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Jaune Arc** \- Human male from Mandalore. Mandalorian bounty hunter trainee.  
 **Hei "Junior" Xiong** \- Human male from Tatooine. Gangster and information broker.  
 **Melanie Malachite** \- Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
 **Miltia Malachite** \- Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
 **Blake Belladonna** \- Half-Cathar female from Cathar. Jedi Master.  
 **Lie Ren** \- Mirialan male from Makeb. Jedi Apprentice to Master Belladonna.  
 **Master Ozpin** \- Human male from Coruscant. Jedi Master and Council Member.  
 **Nora Valkyrie** \- Human female from Ord Mantell. Republic Commando.  
 **Neptune Vasilias** \- Devaronian male from Nar Shaddaa. Migrant Merchants' Guild.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** Oh those adventurous little droids… And yay for cliffhangers! Everyone loves those, right? Props to the _Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines_ game (and my other current crossover story, _Blood of the Rose_ ) for the bit about Yang cutting her own arm off, couldn't resist. (And perhaps a little bit of Gaige from _Borderlands 2_ thrown in as well.) One last item - by popular request, I've added a [Mando'a primer](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10748295) here on AO3 which contains some of the more common words the Mandalorians in this story use.
> 
> Stay shiny!


	8. Chapter 8

**Nar Shaddaa  
** _**Myrtenaster** _

ZW-31 tweedled idly to himself as he worked on the engineering panel. The wires that needed to be sorted into neat, tidy rows were located just outside of his fellow droid's reach, hence his assistance. By his side, P3-NY gave out periodic soft beeps as she remotely interfaced with the _Myrtenaster_ 's main computer, monitoring the communication lines.

After her twenty-sixth beep in eight-point-six-four minutes, the larger droid let out an indulgent trill, reminding the tan astromech that their masters were perfectly capable of handling themselves in a variety of dangerous situations. Not to mention those organics accompanying them who were capable of various levels of lethality.

P3-NY irritably replied with a long categoric list of instances where one or the other of their creators got themselves into dire straits, correlated with the number of times that the droids themselves had needed to intervene on their behalf.

She was halfway through a rendition of their rather harrowing, in her humble opinion, crash landing on Tatooine, ZW-31 diligently finishing up his rewiring efforts all the while, when the diminutive droid suddenly fell silent.

Worriedly, he spun his flattened dome around, inquiring if she'd suffered a sudden malfunction. When she did not immediately reply, ZW-31 quickly resealed the engineering panel and fully swiveled around, rapping on the smaller droid's round dome with his gripping tool.

P3-NY gave a startled electronic _squawk_ and jolted backwards before informing her partner droid that their masters were in terrible, terrible danger.

Curious, ZW-31 beeped that while he hadn't heard anything, surely the other organics on board their new ship designated _home_ would have reacted to such news by now, but P3-NY quickly cut him off with a frantic trilling. She'd been monitoring the comm channels in the immediate vicinity of their creators' destination when several signals came through from a variety of sources, even one she'd identified as a Trandoshan mercenary cruiser docked at landing pad 74236, three levels down and eighteen over. Though the Trandoshan frequencies were irritatingly unclear as to their content, P3-NY being an astromech droid and not a translator droid therefore with no database access to the Trandoshan language itself.

The larger droid indulgently tweeted for her to get on with it.

Chagrined, P3-NY's beeping increased in speed as she rapidly laid out the case of an impending ambush for their masters, as well as those organics designated _friends_ , though she was still unsure about the one named Weiss. While her own creator certainly seemed to favor the Mandalorian, P3-NY was withholding her own judgment until she got to spend more time with the overly irritable organic.

Once again, ZW-31 interrupted the smaller droid's rambling, this time to receive clarification on said impending ambush. Rather, that she collate more information that they might use.

P3-NY obligingly tweeted a list of communications channels active in or around the immediate area, the number disturbingly large.

With a short but resolute _blat_ , he determined that their creators should be informed of the danger immediately, to which her response was a mournful wail. While she'd managed to interface with the main computer enough to receive, she wasn't at this time able to send any transmissions.

It didn't take many processing cycles for ZW-31 to determine that immediate action was required. As those organics still on board the ship were of dubious trustworthiness (the orange-haired armored one in particular, she seemed inordinately fond of blowing things up, if her overheard conversations were any indication), he should depart the ship immediately. To which, of course, P3-NY's response was that there was no way he was leaving her behind.

ZW-31 began wheeling his way down the corridor and towards the exit, pausing to lower the ramp. The small tan droid was traversing alongside, zipping back and forth in an attempt to both gain his attention and seek his approval for such an outing.

Questioning her relative effectiveness, he headed down the ramp and out onto the landing pad, knowing full well she'd follow him no matter what he stated in any case. She was even more overprotective of her creator than he was of his.

P3-NY did a few laps around the larger droid, proudly proclaiming that she was most certainly combat ready. _That_ caused ZW-31 to pause his progress with a derisive electronic snort, assuring her that she was nothing of the sort. His creator had installed in his chassis both a portable shield generator as well as a compact BlasTech DL-28 blaster pistol with interchangeable power nodes allowing for stun, blast, and ion setting. He let out a proud little warble, informing his diminutive friend that there was no possible way she could meet such standards of combat readiness.

In response, P3-NY merely extended her gripper arm and activated the welding tool, sending a little arc of electricity between the fingers.

ZW-31 stared wordlessly at her for the span of four-point-seven seconds before resolutely wheeling his way past the small droid towards where their masters were. P3-NY followed in his wake, irritably grumbling in quiet electronic squeaks that she would certainly show him just how combat ready she was once they engaged with the enemy.

His sigh was the sound of static, but nonetheless carried an undertone of fondness.

Before too long, they entered the alleyways of Nar Shaddaa. Two droids wheeling along by themselves might not be a cause for concern, but the looks from several more unsavory organics were beginning to give ZW-31 reason to look for a maintenance ingress point. He softly tweeted for P3-NY to stay on the lookout for such a portal when she nonchalantly beeped back that the next such opportunity would be in precisely eighteen-point-seven-four meters.

He swiveled his head around to gaze at her while they kept going. In response, she dimmed her optic lights briefly, her way of winking that her creator had taught her. Smugly, she tweedled that she'd downloaded the schematics for the neighborhoods and buildings in between them and the meeting location that their masters were headed towards.

With a wry beep, he conceded that she just might be of help after all on this adventure, to which she excitedly zipped around his wheels, almost tripping him up in her happiness. Before ZW-31 could berate her, she paused and let out a keening electronic wail. She'd just intercepted a transmission from organic Weiss still designated as both _friend_ and _possible enemy_. The party ahead had indeed been ambushed and were under fire.

ZW-31 assured her they were making good time and for her to concentrate on their job right now, which was to find that maintenance portal and get off the open streets.

It didn't take too long for P3-NY to calm herself again, forging ahead to halt at the unassuming hatch built seemingly into the side of a building. She assured ZW-31 it would lead them into the tunnels and that she could navigate them towards their destination without any problem.

Together, they managed to wrest the hatch open, lever themselves through with no small amount of banging and scraping along the edges, and maneuver the portal closed once more. ZW-31 insisted on taking the lead now, his photoreceptor casting a bright red glow as he increased the visibility. The smaller droid wheeled obligingly in his shadow, calling out directions as they came across each intersection.

Until, of course, they were led to a dead end.

ZW-31 crossly beeped a question of precisely how accurate her maps was, to which P3-NY indignantly replied that she was perfectly capable of downloading a simple schematic and following it, thank you very much, and perhaps he merely was not utilizing his optics the correct manner to see the proper way forward.

He spent only two-point-five seconds berating her for her lapse in logic before demanding she find another way forward, as obviously someone had welded this particular pathway closed.

With a resigned _blat_ , P3-NY had them retrace their path back to the last intersection and took a right instead of a left. His inquiry of whether or not her processors needed to recollate that decision was met by a series of irritable tweets and whistles which relayed precisely what she thought of his inquiry.

The pair of droids continued on rapidly, the tunnels narrowing at some points which made for a tight fit, at least for ZW-31, and opening at others wide enough for a speeder to fit through. Eventually, though, they emerged from the tunnels into the basement of what P3-NY assured her fellow droid was the warehouse-like structure that contained this Migrant Merchants Guild, their creators' destination.

After zero-point-eight seconds of consideration, ZW-31 decided they should try a nearby portal sized for organics and anthropomorphic droids as it would hopefully lead them towards their masters.

Naturally, the first chamber they entered had a rather large security droid who eyed them suspiciously, orange photoreceptors glowing ominously.

"Halt," it buzzed imperiously, hefting its blaster rifle in what it likely presumed to be an intimidating manner. "This is a restricted area. You are not authorized to be here."

P3-NY quickly zipped forward, welding tool extended, and declared with a sharp _trill_ that she would show him precisely what her authorization consisted of. As in, her welding tool, in case there was any confusion as to her intent.

While the security droid simply stared down incredulously at the diminutive, ferocious astromech droid, ZW-31 let out an electronic sigh as he switched blaster modes and powered on his shield. He mildly requested that P3-NY remove herself from the immediate vicinity.

P3-NY replied there was no possible way that could happen, not when her big moment was upon her, finally her chance to show off just how combat ready she was-

She broke off her excited warbling as ZW-31 popped open the hatch of his concealed blaster and let loose with a powerful ion shot. It whizzed just over her round dome, impacting upon the security droid's chassis and toppling it. The enemy droid convulsed on the ground, blue tentacles of energy writing about its body.

ZW-31 apologized profusely for his rudeness, but they were on a bit of a schedule here to save their masters, to which P3-NY glumly tweedled that she could have taken him.

He indulgently agreed with her assessment as they wheeled past, heading into the next chamber.

Fortunately, what their opponent had been guarding was a data access point, much to the delight of both droids. P3-NY was quick to zip over and extend her interface tool into the socket, trilling softly as she worked her way into the network.

ZW-31 stood guard protectively, shielding the smaller droid with his own chassis, while he hummed out a need for her to process things as quickly as she was able to. To which she irritably tweedled that there was only so much processing power she could devote to such an activity, limited by the bandwidth of the current connection, which obviously had not been updated in _decades_ , and the central computer itself was such an antiquated model that it likely predated the Great Hyperspace War. In reply, ZW-31 humorously beeped that surely she was exaggerating somewhat.

She grumbled back, only barely, but in any case, she was almost done with the interface. Two-point-eight-five seconds later, she let out a triumphant _squawk_ as she indicated her success. She was now tied into the security network, including cameras and portal control. The larger black and white droid patiently asked if that meant she could now track their masters.

To which P3-NY let out a startled _beep_ , in her exuberance momentarily forgetting their mission.

ZW-31 assured her that was why he was there, after all.

Agreeing, the smaller droid quickly determined that their creators and organics designated _allies_ (though for the time being she'd go ahead and include organic Weiss in said category, a temporary designation only) were currently being herded through a passageway towards another choke point where more enemy units were waiting, including assault droids surely procured from the Sith Empire as they matched the make and model of such assets. Not that she'd had any such dealings before, of course, just that she liked to keep on top of current specifications and had a certain admiration for the sleek lines and capabilities of said assault droids, but of course that was no reflection on her own current state of existence, she was perfectly happy with her own chassis and would certainly never feel any inadequacies that might derive from watching holofeed vids of assault droids in action as they tore through their opposition like a lightsaber through cloth-

The other droid gently reminded her that their masters could certainly use her help right now.

P3-NY gave an embarrassed _squawk_ , assuring the larger droid that she was on top of the situation. With a few deft commands, she sealed the waiting enemy behind sturdy blast doors, as well as blocking off the pursuing forces. She let out a high-pitched _beep_ of success as she declared that their masters were indeed safe from harm.

He considered that, unable to see the schematics, but slowly warbled a stray thought whether or not their masters and associated allies might be able to move out of where they now were.

After several spins of her processors, P3-NY mournfully declared that, no, they were now currently sealed into the passageway.

ZW-31 reached out with his gripper arm and gave her a reassuring pat on the head. She'd done an excellent job of keeping them safe, but now their secondary mission included getting them out of their current predicament. Perhaps there was a way for her to tie into the communications network?

She replied that, yes, she was already tied into said communications.

With a thoughtful, probing whistle, ZW-31 further inquired if she might then be able to hook into the communications of their creators?

P3-NY warbled excitedly as she declared that she just had the most brilliant idea in her short existence. She would communicate to their creators using the communication network that she was connected to!

As she set to tying together nodes, using the codes she knew from the _Myrtenaster_ , ZW-31 let out another indulgent electronic sigh.

Soon enough, the speakers above the data access point crackled to life, with the voice of P3-NY's master coming through strongly.

"...Any other way? I mean, if I could get this panel here open-"

P3-NY quickly interrupted with a few beeps, inquiring if she might be of assistance.

"Penny?" came the incredulous reply. "Sweetie, where are you? Jaune said you and Zwei went off-ship!"

She let out a quick series of beeps and tweedles, recounting their brave adventure to date, and how she'd come _this_ close to taking down a very fearsome security droid-

ZW-31 interrupted with a request of how they might be able to get their masters out of their current situation. He let out a happy warble as he heard his own master come through next.

"Zwei, hey buddy, did you guys block the exits off?"

He assured her that this was due entirely to P3-NY's actions, but that that yes, they were the responsible party.

"Okay, nice job you two. Do you have access to the schematics for this place? Is there somewhere thin enough we could cut through?"

P3-NY hummed consideringly, taking into account the capabilities of a lightsaber, not that she'd actively researched such subject, but it was certainly fascinating to her how they could even function, powered by a simple source yet enhanced by a focusing crystal-

"Sweetie, focus, okay?"

She tweedled her apologies, quickly locating a section of wall that they might be able to cut through. She gave precise directions based upon the camera in that hallway, instructing Blake designated _friend_ and _Jedi_ who actually treated her very nicely, to shift two-point-three meters to the right and face the northward wall.

After the Jedi Master did so, P3-NY informed her that, because the Cathar was so nice to her, she'd overlook the fact that she'd only moved two-point-one meters and not the full two-point-three meters. Besides which, she was in an inordinately good mood today, the adventure they'd been on was both exhilarating and refreshing, imminent danger notwithstanding-

"Penny!"

Once again she tweedled her apologies, assuring them that Blake designated _friend_ and _Jedi_ could certainly proceed to slice through the wall she faced. Soon enough the _boom_ of a dropping plate of metal could be heard over the speakers.

P3-NY proceeded to guide the group through the passageways, closing off some portals to prevent interception and sealing others behind them. At one point, she was forced to have them backtrack until she could redirect a group of enemy hunting them before they could draw closer to where the droids patiently waited.

Just as their masters were approaching the chamber they were now in, P3-NY detected a new presence in the network, as somebody finally woke up to the fact that they no longer had control over their own security systems. The diminutive droid gleefully shut down access controls and wiped what passwords she could find, and as an added measure she made sure to leave a helpful message on each terminal in the complex before detaching from the port.

ZW-31 amusedly berated her for her choice of wording, but P3-NY smugly assured him that "Nice Try Meatbags" was a perfectly acceptable missive when she'd so clearly outsmarted the opposition.

He let out an electronic snort at that, wheeling over to the far door and unsealing it as his audioreceptors picked up on activity in the next room. Sure enough, the familiar figures of their masters rushed into their chamber. P3-NY's creator immediately dropped to her knees, hugging the diminutive droid to her chest gleefully.

"Oh, you are such a smart girl! I'm so proud of you, sweetie, you did great!"

ZW-31 felt a light _thump_ as his own creator grinned down at him, cybernetic hand resting atop his dome. "Yeah, you guys did an awesome job, buddy. I mean, we coulda handled it just fine, but it was nice to have the easy way out."

He gave his master a bump as he ran into her leg, scornfully blatting that she'd surely be as lost without him as she always was.

"Yeah," she chuckled. "Maybe you got a point…"

**Outbound from Nar Shaddaa  
** _**Myrtenaster** _

P3-NY tweedled happily to herself as she enjoyed the thorough cleaning her master was applying to her chassis. She'd picked up a considerable amount of detritus and grease from her recent foray into the maintenance tunnel, and her creator was determined to have her shining like new.

"Y'know, I gotta ask," the brunette mused quietly, brow furrowed as she attacked a particularly stubborn spot with a rag and solvent. "What made you leave the ship, anyways? Didn't you know how dangerous that was?"

The diminutive droid was silent for three-point-five seconds before solemnly beeping that her creator was her reason for existing, and therefore of the utmost importance to her. And there was no possible calculation she could come up with that would include her ever abandoning the most important organic in the galaxy to her.

Ruby Rose, designation _creator_ , _master_ , and _progenitor_ , sniffled as she used a clean corner of the rag to wipe at her eyes. "Yeah," she sighed with a broad smile. "I love you, too, Penny."

* * *

 _Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance):_  
 **Yang Xiao Long** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, talented pilot, and droid tinkerer.  
 **ZW-31** \- Yang's custom astromech droid.  
 **Ruby Rose** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, skilled mechanic, and gun nut.  
 **P3-NY** \- Ruby's astromech droid.  
 **Lady Salem** \- Rattataki female. Sith Lord and advisor to the Emperor.  
 **Lady Cinder Fall** \- Human female. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Darth Hazel** \- Sith Pureblood male. Sith Lord Warrior.  
 **Darth Tyrian** \- Zabrak male. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Emerald Sustrai** \- Twi'lek female. Sith Marauder.  
 **Mercury Black** \- Human male. Sith Warrior.  
 **Weiss Schnee** \- Echani female from Eshan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Pyrrha Nikos** \- Human female from Alderaan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Jaune Arc** \- Human male from Mandalore. Mandalorian bounty hunter trainee.  
 **Hei "Junior" Xiong** \- Human male from Tatooine. Gangster and information broker.  
 **Melanie Malachite** \- Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
 **Miltia Malachite** \- Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
 **Blake Belladonna** \- Half-Cathar female from Cathar. Jedi Master.  
 **Lie Ren** \- Mirialan male from Makeb. Jedi Apprentice to Master Belladonna.  
 **Master Ozpin** \- Human male from Coruscant. Jedi Master and Council Member.  
 **Nora Valkyrie** \- Human female from Ord Mantell. Republic Commando.  
 **Neptune Vasilias** \- Devaronian male from Nar Shaddaa. Migrant Merchants' Guild.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** This was a lot of fun to write.
> 
> Stay shiny!


	9. Chapter 9

**Outbound from Nar Shaddaa  
** _**Myrtenaster** _

Pyrrha let out a soft sigh as she leaned against the bulkhead. She gazed out unseeingly across the common area, unusually deserted even for as late at night as it was, ship's time.

The redheaded Mandalorian was still adjusting to the changes aboard what she'd come to call home so many years ago. From the increased number of beings aboard to having a pilot that managed to handle the ship with considerable grace and skill, to her partner, Weiss, now being in a romantic relationship after so long. And not just with one, but two women.

She shook her head ruefully. Ruby, she could see the platinum-haired woman ending up with. The girl was adorable beyond measure, sweet and yet resourceful. Eminently handy in a fight, which, of course, was one of the primary criteria for a Mandalorian who was considering a proper mate.

Blake, though… Never in a thousand years would Pyrrha have figured Weiss to fall for a _Jetii_ , no matter how mysterious and alluring. That she was an incredibly skilled fighter was an added bonus, as was clearly evidenced by the combat earlier that day.

Placing her helmet upside-down on the chair nearby, she pulled her gauntlets off one at a time, carefully tucking them inside the _buy'ce_ before running her fingers through her long crimson hair. It always got kinked and ratty after being tucked up inside her protective headgear for too long, particularly after a fight when the cooling system had a hard time keeping up with her raised body heat.

"Long day?"

Pyrrha gave a little start, she'd been drifting while still on her feet, eyes half closed, and was startled to see her blond fellow Mandalorian standing in front of her with a wry grin.

"O- Oh! Jaune! _Elek,_ that was one _kandosii_ of an _akaanir_ today, sorry you missed it…"

"Well, one of these times Weiss might actually consider bringing me along on a fight."

She chuckled, giving his armored forearm a _thump_. "Give it time, _vod_. I think, with the increased lethality on board, she might spread out the duties some."

"I suppose," he replied with a half-shrug. He leaned against the back of a couch, crossing his arms as his bright blue eyes seemed to bore into her.

"Well… _troch_ , you must consider the fact that she does entrust the safety of her ship to you." Pyrrha smiled uncertainly, unsure of what her _vod_ was thinking. "That is not inconsiderable."

"Hmm." He tilted his head slightly as he regarded the redhead. "You know… I figured you were maybe still hung up on Weiss, given your past history."

Pyrrha swallowed nervously. "We… We don't discuss that," she replied hesitantly.

"But you're still acting oddly, even after Weiss got involved with the _aruetiie_ ," he continued as if she'd not spoken. "Been that way ever since I've known you. Might just play it off as acting _utreekov_ at times, but that's not you, that's never you…"

" _Nyac,_ " she whispered. She was frozen in place, eyes wide as he uncrossed his arms and sauntered over towards her.

"So, I'm beginning to wonder," Jaune continued calmly, "if it's been me all along who's making you act like that."

To say that Pyrrha was both dumbfounded and beyond flustered at his line of reasoning was a massive understatement. She was trembling inside her armor as he approached far into her space, much more than he'd ever been before. He stopped, their faces inches apart, and gave her a gentle smile.

"Feel free to stop me at any time," he murmured confidently.

Much to her mortification, the only reply she could summon up was a needy little whine as she licked her lips and glanced down at his, all of her carefully built walls crumbling before the man standing before her.

His smile turned into a wide grin. "Well, how about that," Jaune murmured. "I was actually right for a change." With that, he lowered his head towards hers and their lips met with an almost electric shock.

After the initial jolt, the kiss quickly deepened as each Mandalorian expressed a smoldering need for each other. Pyrrha was beyond elated that her feelings were returned, having been entirely too unsure of herself, of their friendship, of their strength as a team to act on her feelings.

Soon enough they parted, both panting lightly and with their lips pleasantly swollen.

Jaune reached up and cupped her cheek, to which she turned her head and pressed a soft kiss into his palm.

"Alright, then," he murmured. "I'll be in my bunk if you want to join me tonight, Ren is usually meditating for the next few hours. But… no pressure, okay?"

With that, he turned and made his way through the common area towards the rear quarters.

Pyrrha stood there, still stunned for a moment before she gave herself a shake and grinned widely. "Oh, _shab_ , yes!" she whispered excitedly. As she quickly jogged in the same direction Jaune had departed in, a sudden thought occurred to her.

"Jaune, wait, I have my own room, you know!"

Her grin widened at his pleased chuckle.

**Alderaan Orbit  
** _**Myrtenaster** _

The next morning, Blake and Ren sat together at the conference room table, each eating their breakfast in companionable silence. While Ren contented himself with lightly sweetened oatmeal, the Cathar Jedi was greatly enjoying her plate of scrambled Jakku Chukar eggs from Tatooine.

"Blake!"

The raven-haired woman looked up with a smile as a sleepy-looking brunette entered, a wide smile of her own plastered across her face. Ruby quickly skipped over to where she sat and pressed a quick, bashful kiss to her lips.

"Good morning!" Ruby chirped pleasantly, plopping down into a seat next to her. P3-NY wheeled in right behind her, tweedling out a general wish of a pleasant morning to all those assembled so far.

"And good morning to you, _ad'ika_ ," she murmured, reaching over to give her arm a squeeze and sending a friendly wink towards the diminutive droid. "Did you sleep well?"

"Eh, well enough," she sighed, sitting back in her chair and stretching her arms over her head. She brought them back down again with a _squeak_ of noise before leaning her head against Blake's shoulder. "At least, as best as I can with all the snoring goin' on. I swear, I think Nora and Yang have a contest running to see who can snore the loudest."

"I don't snore," Yang grumbled as she walked blearily into the room. She carried a steaming mug of caf in one hand as the other ran through her unruly locks of blonde hair.

"Penny," the brunette grinned. "Play track seventy-four."

Suddenly, the room was filled with a chorus of snores, obviously coming from the throats of two people. Yang scowled at her highly amused sister.

"Ain't buyin' it. Obviously doctored."

"Pfft," Ruby snarked. " _Nar'sheb!_ "

"Ruby, I will karking beat you…"

"No violence before breakfast," Weiss announced humorously as she entered the room, pristine white and blue armor gleaming under the soft lighting and a plate of thinly-sliced and braised nerf ham steaks in her hand. "New rule."

"Figures you'd take her side," Yang grumbled half-heartedly. She sank into a chair at the end of the long table and slurped from her mug, wincing at the scalding temperature of the liquid.

Weiss gave an amused smirk at the sight of Blake and Ruby snuggled up next to each other. "Ruby, don't you want to get something to eat?"

"Yep, just waiting for you!" the brunette chirped. She sprang up from her chair and tackled the Mandalorian, nuzzling into her exposed neck yet miraculously not knocking the plate to the floor. "'Morning!"

"Er… _Elek_ , good morning," Weiss blushed. Her coloring reddened further as Ruby snuck in a quick kiss on her cheek before skipping back off towards the galley.

Clearing her throat, the platinum-haired woman strolled over to sit where Ruby had just vacated. "Good morning, Blake," she greeted the Cathar calmly.

"Good morning," she returned. The blush had just finished fading when it came back in full force, Blake having leaned over to plant a soft kiss on her cheek as well.

" _Haar'chak_ ," the Mandalorian grumbled. "I think you both enjoy doing that to me entirely too much."

"Possibly," Blake conceded with a smirk.

Ren simply shook his head with a wordless smile and continued to eat his meal.

It wasn't long before excited chatter preceded the arrival of Nora and the return of Ruby. The pair were engrossed in a rather detailed conversation regarding the trooper's assault cannon. Yang groaned and sunk her head into her arms, grumbling something incoherent along the lines of it being entirely too early for such shavit.

"...And the feeder lines could handle the increased power, I'm sure of it!" the brunette proclaimed gleefully, waving around a fork as she conversed.

"Well, sure," Nora interjected. "But the coolant leads would need upgraded-"

"Unless you increase the flow from-"

"Well, yeah, but what about the regulator-"

"Oh, you can just trash that-"

"Huh, I didn't think-"

"Oh, sure, it'd take that _easy!_ "

The two diminutive women paused at the entrance to the room, grinning widely at each other.

"I think this calls for a trip to the workroom!" Ruby exclaimed.

"I think you're absolutely right!" Nora declared.

"Breakfast first," Weiss interjected firmly. "Eat now, blow yourselves up later."

"Hey, this is _Magnhild_ , not _Handske!_ "

The Mandalorian glanced over at Blake, perplexed, but was awarded with a confused shrug. "Er… Who are… _Magnhild_ and _Handske?_ "

" _Magnhild_ is my assault cannon, _Handske_ is my auto microgrenade launcher," Nora explained patiently. "And _Stov_ is my blaster pistol."

"Oh. _Troch,_ of course." Weiss cleared her throat, ignoring how Yang's shoulders were shaking in mirth as her head remained buried in her arms. "Still, my point stands. Come and sit, please."

"Okay, _cyar'ika,_ " Ruby giggled, placing herself on the other side of the platinum-haired woman and setting down her plate of Jakku Chukar eggs and steamed greens, all with what suspiciously looked to be syrup spread liberally over them. The brunette leaned over and gave Weiss another peck on the cheek before digging into her plate with a pleased giggle.

"Incorrigible," Weiss grumbled, fighting down yet another blush. She cleared her throat once again, turning to the widely-smirking Cathar woman at her side. "So, do you anticipate being able to get in touch with your contacts on Alderaan quickly?" she inquired politely.

Blake nodded as she finished chewing her bite of egg. "Actually, I heard from them late last night when we arrived in orbit. I'm not one-hundred percent certain, but I think I might have a lead."

"Do tell," Weiss smiled.

"Well… There seems to be one report in particular that came from the planet Hoth. It might have been an origin point for one or more of the interested parties."

"Ugh, Hoth," a sleepy voice yawned from the doorway. "Entirely too cold for my liking."

Jaune stood there, wearing loose trousers and shirt instead of his usual armor. And, even more surprising, Pyrrha leaned into his side, wearing nothing but an overly long sleepshirt.

Yang barked out a laugh as she got to her feet. "I'll go change course," she declared. "I stay here any longer, the lot of you are gonna give me a toothache." She gave the Mandalorian couple a broad wink as she slid by. "Congrats, you two."

"Thanks, Yang," her fellow blond chuckled.

Weiss quickly got to her feet and strode over, giving a quick hug to the both of them, much to their surprise. " _Kandosii, ner vode,_ " she murmured.

" _Vor'e, vod_ ," Pyrrha replied happily.

**Hoth**

_"Few life-forms can survive on the ice planet Hoth. Between its subzero surface temperatures, shearing winds, and frequent whiteouts, the environment should be considered extremely hostile even to properly outfitted individuals. Mechanical equipment and communications technology are prone to freeze and malfunction as well, making any minor setback potentially lethal. During the recent war between the Republic and the Sith Empire, the Hoth system was the site of a major fleet battle. This resulted in a large number of starships falling into Hoth's gravity well and crashing on the planet surface. These derelict ships have become the base of operations for a large group of pirates, as well as a center of dispute between Republic and Imperial forces."  
_ _\- Holonet Codex_

Blake pulled her hood tighter around her face with one hand while the other grasped at the front of her robe, ensuring that the bitter wind would not blow her outer layer of clothing away. The short trek from the landing field they'd set down upon, owned by an independent archeological team that she'd worked with before and who owed her a few favors, was nonetheless brutal enough that she was drawing heavily on the Force to keep herself from freezing solid. Hoth was an unforgiving world at the best of times, but it seemed as if they had managed to set down during a whiteout blizzard.

As she concentrated on putting one booted foot in front of the other, her thoughts drifted to the two women who she'd become involved with. The Cathar Jedi sent out little tendrils of the Force, basking in their presence and affectionate feelings towards her and towards each other. It made her smile slightly and filled her with warmth. The Living Force had never felt so alive for her since she had met both the bubbly brunette Corellian and the fascinating platinum-haired Mandalorian.

She was pulled out of her musings as she spied the abandoned Imperial outpost up ahead. It had succumbed to the constant threats of the local revivalist cultists-slash-bandits known as the Helstorm Brotherhood. The outpost had been sacked and subsequently sealed off until the Sith Empire could devote further efforts into securing the area.

That much, her informants had been able to tell her. But Blake was still unsure as to what was waiting for her at the abandoned facility, and as such had insisted on undertaking this reconnaissance by herself.

The raven-haired woman let out a soft sigh of relief as she entered the shadow of the large building built into the side of a cliff. The icy wind had finally cut off, leaving her to only deal with the freezing temperatures. And, of course, finding a means of ingress.

Blake paused consideringly at a maintenance hatch which would normally have been sealed up tight, but in this case, it looked to have been recently opened, if the clearing of snow was any indication. She stretched her hand out, smirking slightly as the lock disengaged and the portal popped outward. Sensing nobody nearby inside, she slipped in and closed it quickly behind her.

She now stood in the middle of a barren storeroom, empty shelves lining the walls and little else to show any sort of occupancy. There was, however, emergency lighting coming from the hallway ahead, indicating that at least a backup generator was running somewhere. She pulled her hood down, furred ears giving a relieved flicker, but she could neither hear nor sense anything.

The Jedi slipped into the corridor, cautiously making her way along to the large room that bordered the main doorway. She paused at the threshold, eyes narrowed, as she spotted a worktable full of papers among a number of recently-placed supply crates. A field lamp was burning brightly atop the table surface, and what looked to be a mug full of some liquid rested next to it.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," she murmured whimsically as she slowly made her way across the room.

Suddenly she was overwhelmed with the nearby presences of other sentients, filled with the malevolent purpose of the Dark Side. One was in the corridor she'd just exited, another on an unseen catwalk above her head, and one more hidden behind the crates.

"That's a rather interesting trick," she called out calmly. "Masking yourselves through the Force."

"Ohhh, yes, I'm just full of tricks," a dark voice giggled from overhead. The Cathar stood in place unflinchingly as a black-robed figure dropped to the floor to her right, straightening up to reveal the grinning, crazed visage of a dark-haired Zabrak. From the stack of crates, a mint-green Twi'lek woman, also in the robes of a Sith, slinked forward with an eager smirk.

Blake turned her head slightly to regard the third member of the ambush, a grey-haired Human with a youthful face and black armor gleaming under his own robes.

"So," she murmured. "Three on one? Hardly fair odds."

"Pfft, since when do we care about being fair?" the Twi'lek snickered.

"Oh, I wasn't referring to you," Blake stated with a grin. The Jedi Master exploded into action, quickly determining the weakest of the three she faced, now that she could allow the Force to guide her. Her amethyst blade snapped into existence as she sailed in at the Twi'lek girl, who only barely managed to get her twin lightsabers up with a startled _squawk_.

She took both blades on her own, whirling around and delivering a swift kick into the other girl's midsection and sending her crashing back into the crates. "Pity," Blake grunted. "You've got fast reflexes. Then again, so do I."

Blake quickly tumbled out of the way from the Force-assisted leap of the grey-haired man. He slammed into the ground but was immediately under a withering attack as her purple blade twirled about, sharply clashing against his own red one. She twisted to the side, delivering a blow against his chest armor that staggered him. With a quick gesture, she sent him sprawling back, picking up several fragments of broken crates and supplies to help him along the way. They also served the purpose of knocking the recovering Twi'lek back into a heap once again.

And then she was set upon by the more dangerous of the trio. If it were simply the other pair, she'd have handled them easily, but this one… The rather deranged-looking Sith was clearly a Lord with all of the power and danger that such a title bestowed. His dual-bladed lightsaber whirled in a wide circle as he moved in, cackling madly as he forced her to take a few steps back.

In her time on Tython and Coruscant, she'd had the opportunity to spar with several Jedi who wielded such blades. While they looked to be intimidating, they were easily circumvented. The trick of it was to remember that you only needed to track the one blade, while the other was always going to be at the opposite end.

Simple in theory, rather difficult for most in execution.

Fortunately, Blake was unlike most Force-users. While some Masters claimed dominance over the use of the Force to manipulate the environment or other sentient beings, and others focused on melding with the Force in a way that allowed them to make far-reaching decisions...

Blake… was a Blademaster. Her lightsaber was an extension of her body, of her will. This was her specialty and her calling. She was an expert duellist and could easily pinpoint the weakness of her enemy, what it would take to cripple them, remove them as a threat, or simply eliminate them from the Living Force.

However, as she ducked and weaved, spun and sliced, for the first time in her life she was starting to become a little bit worried that she might have taken on a bit more than she could handle.

The other pair of Sith were regaining their footing, but she couldn't disengage enough from the dark madman currently pressing her so aptly. And she couldn't slip under his guard, either. His entire torso glowed with a black fire that seemed to both energize him and increase the speed of his attacks.

She'd not seen such power before, but Blake also knew the limits of the Force, light or dark, and just as surely knew that this Zabrak would eventually burn out.

The problem being, she'd be engaged on three fronts before that happened.

Gritting her teeth, she pulled back slightly, flicking her lightsaber in an intricate move designed to slip past the Zabrak's defenses. Anticipating such, he pulled back as well as he set himself into a counter pose.

Instead of following up, though, she flipped backwards in a cartwheel high overhead, landing in a crouch in front of the surprised pair who had been charging forward. They skidded to a stop, but not before they were set upon by the grinning Cathar woman who looked to be having entirely too much fun with this battle.

The Twi'lek, in particular, seemed to be regretting not bringing along more Sith to their little ambush.

Blake was a dervish, sliding in between the two lesser Sith. Her amethyst lightsaber flashed out, catching the hilt of one of the Twi'lek's blades and sending the damaged hilt soaring away, along with a finger or two. The Sith woman let out a sharp hiss of pain but continued to press her attack with the remaining saber.

Meanwhile, the grey-haired Human was trying to use his greater bulk and strength to overpower the Jedi Master, but she was entirely too nimble and slippery to be pinned down. He recoiled from several hits against his armor, strikes which would surely have killed him were the dark protective plates not present, but then let out an angry shout of pain as one of her lunges seared across the unarmored inside of his forearm, causing him to stumble backwards and almost drop his lightsaber.

Before she could press her advantage further, Blake let out a shriek of agony as her body lit up with the crackle of dark lightning. She stepped to the side, barely avoiding the renewed rush of both the Twi'lek and Human and trying to keep them in between her and the Sith Lord.

But as she turned, she lost track of the Zabrak, only to realize, too late, that he'd performed a Force Leap of his own.

Further white-hot pain seared across her back as she tumbled forward, the lightsaber strike from behind having come dangerously close to bisecting her spine.

Blake was in a good deal of trouble, now.

Her movements became less fluid as she was compelled to rely on her defensive skills, drawing upon the Force more to keep the pain at bay and her wounded body upright and mobile, rather than directing her attacks. All the while, her amber eyes anxiously sought an escape while she ducked and side-stepped and blocked one strike after another.

Finally, her opponents slipped up. The Human got too close to his Twi'lek partner, causing her to shift to the side with a furious snarl. Blake leapt up, avoiding the double-bladed sweep from the Zabrak while deflecting the attack from the Human. As she twisted in midair, her foot snapped outwards, catching the Twi'lek woman on the chin and causing her to collapse in a boneless heap.

Now down to two opponents, Blake began to edge her way back towards the corridor where she'd emerged from. The Zabrak's eyes narrowed as he discerned her plan, but he was in the wrong position to prevent her escape. Before he could direct the other Sith, the Cathar Jedi managed to slam her knee into the side of the Human with enough of the Force assisting the blow that he staggered to the side.

It was enough of an opening for her to sprint down the passageway. Her hand was already up and opening the portal leading outside. Blake wasted little time in flinging herself out into the snow, heedless of the icy cold as she rolled onto her back. The pain from her wound almost caused her to black out right then and there, but she grit her teeth tenaciously as her open hand pushed outwards, slamming the hatch in the face of the enraged Human.

And then her hand closed into a fist, buckling the metal around the door and, if she were lucky, collapsing the room behind it to bury her pursuers.

With an agonized groan, Blake got to her feet, shutting down her lightsaber and clipping it to her belt before lurching forward, trying to get as much distance between herself and the enemy as she could.

She knew without a doubt that she couldn't make the trek all the way back, not with as wounded as she was, with the edges of her vision beginning to darken. Her grasp on the Force became more slippery, less focused, but before she lost all sensibility she managed to reach out.

_Ruby… Weiss… Help me, please…_

Her mental whispers were immediately picked up upon if the anxiety she now felt from them both was any indication. She continued to walk falteringly forward, hoping that the motion would keep her conscious long enough to be found.

And then she could feel them growing rapidly closer, could hear the distant whine of repulsorlifts increase in volume. The lights of the _Myrtenaster_ shone down upon her form as she collapsed onto her hands and knees, panting in agony.

Two sets of arms grabbed ahold of her, and she gladly accepted the encroaching darkness with the knowledge that she was safe at last.

**Outbound from Hoth  
** _**Myrtenaster** _

Ruby paced outside the small medical room on board the ship. Every time she passed by the open doorway, her silver eyes flickered worriedly to the form of her Cathar girlfriend, currently floating in a tank of bacta with a rebreather covering her face. The fact that she looked to be peacefully asleep did nothing to dissuade her worry, having seen the bloody burn mark across her back and the patches of weeping red wounds from what Ren stated was the result of an electrical attack.

"Relax, Rubes," her sister murmured soothingly from where she leaned up against the bulkhead in the corridor, arms crossed. "We got to her in time, she should be fine soon enough."

"We almost didn't, though," the brunette whispered, her pacing unceasing. "She could have died out there, Yang! I _knew_ she shouldn't have gone out there alone!"

"My feelings precisely, _cyar'ika,_ " Weiss interjected as she emerged from the infirmary, her hands clenching and unclenching at her sides. "From now on, we don't let anyone go out without backup. This was clearly yet another trap."

Ruby let out a sigh as she moved towards her Mandalorian girlfriend. They wrapped each other up in a reassuring hug, the brunette having gotten used the feel of the alabaster armor against her cheek. It had become consoling, even, making her feel more safe and secure.

"I regret I was unable to pick up on her distress earlier," Ren intoned softly as he also stepped from the room. "They must have blocked me, somehow."

"Could you tell how many there were?" Yang asked quietly.

"Yes, after we secured my Master, I did pick up on three other presences." The Mirialan grimaced slightly. "All three were Sith."

"Well, that tears it, then," the blonde grunted as she stood upright to make her way back to the bridge.

"Yes," Weiss murmured. "The _Darjetii_ are definitely the ones after you, _cyar'ika_."

"Yeah, well…" Ruby sighed into the platinum-haired woman's shoulder. "Somehow, knowing that doesn't reassure me any."

* * *

_Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance):_

**Yang Xiao Long** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, talented pilot, and droid tinkerer.  
 **ZW-31** \- Yang's custom astromech droid.  
 **Ruby Rose** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, skilled mechanic, and gun nut.  
 **P3-NY** \- Ruby's astromech droid.  
 **Lady Salem** \- Rattataki female. Sith Lord and advisor to the Emperor.  
 **Lady Cinder Fall** \- Human female. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Darth Hazel** \- Sith Pureblood male. Sith Lord Warrior.  
 **Darth Tyrian** \- Zabrak male. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Emerald Sustrai** \- Twi'lek female. Sith Marauder.  
 **Mercury Black** \- Human male. Sith Warrior.  
 **Weiss Schnee** \- Echani female from Eshan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Pyrrha Nikos** \- Human female from Alderaan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Jaune Arc** \- Human male from Mandalore. Mandalorian bounty hunter trainee.  
 **Hei "Junior" Xiong** \- Human male from Tatooine. Gangster and information broker.  
 **Melanie Malachite** \- Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
 **Miltia Malachite** \- Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
 **Blake Belladonna** \- Half-Cathar female from Cathar. Jedi Master.  
 **Lie Ren** \- Mirialan male from Makeb. Jedi Apprentice to Master Belladonna.  
 **Master Ozpin** \- Human male from Coruscant. Jedi Master and Council Member.  
 **Nora Valkyrie** \- Human female from Ord Mantell. Republic Commando.  
 **Neptune Vasilias** \- Devaronian male from Nar Shaddaa. Migrant Merchants' Guild.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** Whelp, looks like Master Belladonna isn't infallible after all... And, hey, there goes the space cruiser Arkos outta the dock, now! One more starship to set sail…
> 
> One of my awesome Betas, **Silvana_Crowe** , did some artwork for the droids! Check these out:
> 
> [P3-NY](http://liv2angrtehwrld.deviantart.com/art/P3-NY-680545636)   
>  [ZW-31](http://liv2angrtehwrld.deviantart.com/art/ZW-31-680546259)
> 
> Stay shiny!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** Fluff alert! Fluff alert! Set shields to maximum!  
>  (One last stopover before we move the actual plot along…)

**En Route to Coruscant  
** _**Myrtenaster** _

The sounds coming from the cargo bay were rather comparable to a bar brawl in the seediest dive to be found in the lower levels of Coruscant. Not that Weiss had been to the Republic capital in some time. Such incursions were expensive enough to keep under the official levels of scrutiny and rarely offered the kinds of returns that the Echani woman sought to cover expenses. Even though it was their current destination, it was Blake's transponder they were using this time. It was effective enough to get them a discreet berth at the main starport but not quite enough for an armed and armored Mandalorian to set foot on the surface.

Still, the alabaster-armored woman mused as she walked towards the aft of her ship, she'd been in her share of bars populated with plenty clientele of ill repute. Been in a number of brawls as well. Even started a few herself.

That notion firmly in the fore of her mind, she was rather anxious to head off the sort of damage such endeavors might cause inside her precious ship.

As Weiss entered the cargo bay, she paused, the prepared shrill denunciation dying on her lips. Yang was sprawled out on her back, panting heavily, while a smirking Nora hovered over her with hands on armored hips.

"Too slow again, blondie," the trooper smirked.

"Shavit," the Corellian groaned, levering herself back to her feet. "Right, let's try that again…"

"Weiss!" a familiar voice whispered loudly. The Mandalorian glanced over to see Ruby waving to her from where she stood just next to the main bay doors, snuggled into the front of their Cathar Jedi girlfriend.

With a chuckle, she paced around the perimeter of the cleared area to join the pair, her pale blue eyes focused on the two women in the middle. They were set into unarmed combat stances. Nora's was one she recognized from watching elite Republic forces spar, while Yang was in a totally unfamiliar position that seemed to take advantage of her stronger cybernetic arm by leading with it, either for offense or defense as the situation demanded.

Obviously, the Corellian woman had no formal training, but she was determined as _shab_ , Weiss would give her that much.

"So," she murmured once she was leaning against the bulkhead next to Blake. "How long have they been trying to demolish each other?"

"Not terribly long," the raven-haired woman murmured back. "Yang has yet to remain on her feet, though."

"Yep, Nora's kicking the frizz outta her," Ruby giggled, silver eyes shining with mirth.

Suddenly inspired, Weiss leaned forward on her tiptoes to plant a quick kiss on Blake's soft, furry cheek first, before darting in to give Ruby another such display of affection. While the Cathar displayed a wide grin, an eminently pleased look on her face, Ruby let out a startled _squeak_ and blushed brightly.

"Too _copikla_ ," Weiss chuckled quietly. As she turned back, the platinum-haired woman winced as she watched Nora duck under Yang's guard, overextending the Corellian's arm and flipping her onto her back.

"Oh for kark's sake," Yang grunted irritably.

"Ah, I see," the Mandalorian murmured with a smirk. "Nora's waiting for her to catch on."

"Mmm," Blake agreed with a hum. "Since I've known her, she's never been one to come right out and tell a person something instructional, as blunt as she can be otherwise. She prefers to lead them to the conclusion themselves and let them think it was their idea all along."

"Huh, how about that," Ruby mused. "Kinda tells you a lot about her right there, doesn't it?"

Weiss glanced over at the brunette, impressed at the observation. "It does indeed, _cyar'ika_ ," she replied softly. She grinned at the _crash_ of another take-down. "A woman of unusual humility."

This time, however, Yang managed to retain her grip on the muscular orange-haired woman and dragged her down with her. Or, more appropriately, on top of her.

The blonde grunted once more, this time from the weight of the armored figure resting on her chest. "Well, I count that as a partial victory," she laughed breathlessly.

"Oh, yeah?" Nora grinned widely. "You sure I don't have you where I want ya?"

"Oh, I got no doubt there," Yang chuckled, her fingers still wrapped around the collar of the trooper's armor. "But I got _you_ where I want you, too."

With that, the Corellian dragged Nora down the last few inches to plant a smoldering kiss on her lips. The orange-haired woman let out a surprised _squeak_ before enthusiastically returning it.

"About kriffing time," Ruby snickered.

"Indeed," Weiss smirked.

Blake, though, let out a sigh. "Now I owe Ren ten credits."

Her girlfriends swiveled to look at her incredulously, but she just offered them an unrepentant shrug.

"What? I thought they'd last another week, honestly."

"Never underestimate my sister's effect on women," Ruby declared adamantly. "Um… should we give them some privacy?"

"If they wanted privacy, they shouldn't have started _nu'murcyur_ in the middle of the cargo bay," Weiss replied archly. She cleared her throat loudly. " _Adike_ , there are cabins available, you know."

Ruby snorted softly behind her hand as the two women clumsily sprang apart and scrambled to their feet. "Did you seriously just call them children?"

Giving her a wink, Weiss took a step forward to address the rather chagrined, yet pleased-looking, blonde. "Before you continue your… extra activities… would you mind sparring briefly with me, Yang?"

"Uh, yeah, sure thing!" Yang chuckled. Nora gave her a lecherous grin as the orange-haired woman sauntered out of the bay, casually scooping up her helmet as she left.

Weiss smirked at the dazed look in the blonde's eyes as she watched the trooper depart. "Focus, _gedet'ye_ … please."

"Right, right, sorry," Yang chuckled, setting herself into the odd fighting stance from before. "Ready when you are, boss-lady."

The Mandalorian narrowed her eyes as she swept in. In a considerably shorter time frame than it had taken with Nora, the blonde found herself staring up at the ceiling of the cargo bay once more.

"Shavit," she squeaked out.

"Now then," Weiss stated levelly, walking back to her original position. "The advantage that Nora has over you… and that I have as well… is that we are of considerably shorter stature than you."

"Well, yeah," Yang groaned as she regained her footing. "But that means I should be able to overpower either one of ya, right?"

"Actually, the opposite is true." The Echani woman set herself, gesturing Yang forward. "Come at me and I shall demonstrate."

To her credit, Yang didn't simply charge in. She took her time, alternating her footing until she could get inside Weiss' guard. Of course, by then the platinum-haired woman had extended Yang's arm over her head and flipped her once more.

"Both Nora and myself are used to fighting taller opponents," Weiss continued as if there hadn't been an interruption. "As soon as I get inside your guard, I have the advantage of leverage."

"Huh." Yang got up once again, shaking her head to dispel the lingering stunned effect of violently meeting the deck. "So, arya gonna tell me how to counter it?"

Weiss set herself into her combat stance once again. "Keep your body lower to the ground," she stated simply.

"Um, okay, I can do that…" Yang moved in again, this time in a bit of a crouch, her knees flexed far more than before.

While it took a bit longer, she still ended up on her back.

"Well, I didn't say it would be easy," Weiss smirked, her hands on her armored hips.

"Uh-huh." Yang got to her feet once more, a calculating gleam in her lilac eyes. "Right, so… let's make this a little more interesting. One more go, but we'll make a wager."

Weiss' eyebrows arched regally. "Oh, really?"

"Yup. If I win, you tell me what _nar'sheb_ means."

Weiss chuckled at the _squawk_ of protest from her brunette girlfriend. "And when I win again?"

" _If_ you win," Yang grinned. "Then I tell you the actual story behind my arm."

"Hmm." Weiss tapped her forefinger against her chin before settling back into the familiar stance with a predatory grin. " _Elek._ I accept."

She was slightly disappointed to see Yang moving at her in much the same way as before, having hoped that the blonde had figured out something different. Once again Yang's cybernetic fist sailed in at her…

Only to stop short.

Weiss didn't let the feint, as aptly as it was done, fool her, though. She was already switching sides as the left fist approached, grabbing hold of the arm and extending it.

And that was when Yang's artificial arm darted forward the rest of the way, grasping Weiss by the collar of her armor, and tossed the Mandalorian onto the deck.

She lay there for a moment, stunned, before letting out a pleased bark of laughter. " _Kandosii!_ " she cheered with a wide grin, levering herself up onto her elbows. She glanced aside to the other two women present, both of whom were gaping openly. " _Cyar'ika_ , you've got a three-second head start."

Ruby let out a startled _yelp_ before hurtling from the cargo bay in the direction of the bridge.

Chuckling, Weiss directed her attention to the widely-smirking blonde, giving her a nod of respect. "So, _nar'sheb_ … essentially means to kark off."

Yang nodded back sagely, her smirk turning a bit anticipatory. "Thanks for the sparring and the lesson, Weiss, but right now, there's a noogie that needs administering to my baby sis."

As the blonde took off, Ruby could be heard wailing in the distance, " _Nooo_ , not the noogie!"

Blake snickered as she offered a hand to help the Mandalorian up. "Ahh, the pitter-patter of spacer boots. Sounds like home."

" _Lek_ ," Weiss chuckled as she accepted the assistance. "I suppose it does, doesn't it?" She frowned slightly at the resounding _crash_ that came from the direction of the common area. "You break something you _shabla_ well better fix it!" she yelled out.

"I doubt they'll be at it for long," Blake laughed softly. "I'm sure Nora is waiting for Yang in their bunk without a shred of clothing on."

"O- Oh?" Weiss squeaked with a blush. "Er… _Elek_ , I suppose that… might be the case…"

The Cathar smiled gently as she placed a kiss on her lips, soft and loving. "I need to get ready," she murmured as she pulled back. "We'll be in Coruscanti airspace soon."

"Right," Weiss murmured, watching the grey-robed Jedi gracefully walk from the cargo bay. Her brow remained furrowed as she followed at a much more sedate pace.

**En Route to Nar Shaddaa  
** _**Myrtenaster** _

Blake hadn't spent much time on the planet's surface. Within a few hours, the _Myrtenaster_ was spaceborne once more, a course set for a rather familiar planet.

Her Jedi contacts had been able to identify the Sith Lord that she'd fought on Hoth as one Darth Tyrian. Not much else was known about the crazed Zabrak save for a single known associate, a Sith Pureblood by the name of Darth Hazel.

And while there was no known location of Dark Tyrian, save for, perhaps, the Sith capital of Dromund Kaas itself, Darth Hazel had recently been seen on Nar Shaddaa. He'd been helping one of the more violent gangs there coalesce its power, leaving a trail of the competition by the wayside, all bearing fatal wounds from a lightsaber.

That night, Weiss found herself pacing her quarters, sending an occasional glance at the wall opposite her bed. She didn't use the durasteel mannequin there often, but right now it bore her full set of armor while she walked in naught but a white camisole and sleep shorts.

Her armor, her _Beskar'gam_ , wasn't her primary focus of concern that evening, though. She paused by it, running her fingers along the sigil that adorned the left shoulder pauldron in a very faint, almost invisible pale blue.

"I don't know why I even used this as my _Aliik_ ," she murmured distractedly, tracing the outline of the stylized snowflake. "This isn't really me."

Which was, actually, the other issue she'd been pondering for some time. Her identity.

_Who am I, really?_

A knock sounded at the door to her quarters, causing her to frown. "I am… indisposed," she called out levelly.

"Weiss, c'mon, can you let us in, please?"

She felt her face go unnaturally pale at the thought of her girlfriends seeing her like this, outside her armor… exposed and vulnerable…

And that made her confront the actual cause for her concern that evening. Her identity and how it related to the two women currently outside her bunk.

Before she could come up with a coherent excuse, she heard the lock disengage. She greeted Blake with a fierce scowl as the Jedi calmly entered, a worried-looking Ruby on her heels closing then locking the hatch quickly behind them.

"That is so unfair," the Echani grumbled, turning around to face the wall with her arms crossed tightly against her chest. "Using the Force to unlock my door."

"Yep," Ruby giggled softly. "Handy, though." The brunette's tone quickly sobered as Weiss felt her move up behind her. "Weiss… what's the matter? You've been avoiding us for half the day."

"I just…" The platinum-haired woman shook her head irritably, hair unbound and flowing across her shoulders. "I've been… pondering some things. Things such as… I'm not… comfortable… with anyone seeing me outside my… my armor."

"Mmm." Blake let out a thoughtful hum. Her bed shifted slightly, evidently now bearing the weight of the Cathar woman. "You know… your armor doesn't make you who you are."

 _Trust in a_ Jetii _to get right to the heart of the matter…_ "Of course it does," she retorted out loud. "I'm a Mandalorian."

And then Ruby was pressed up against her back, arms slipped around her waist and hands clasped against her toned stomach. Weiss let out a startled _eep_ at the unfamiliar sensation.

"Nope," the brunette reassured her. "You may be a Mando, but you're much more than that to us."

"Tch." Weiss let out an irritable huff as she turned in the embrace, blushing brightly the whole while. "So you two have been talking about me, then?" she asked with a trace of asperity.

Blake shook her head slowly as she eased her robe off of her shoulders, letting it settle behind her on the bed. "Talking about _us_. And what we want."

"W- What are you doing?" the Echani woman squeaked.

"Trying to make you more comfortable."

"Oh, that's a nice idea, Blakey." Ruby stepped back, keeping her hands on Weiss' slender hips. "Are you… really that uncomfortable being out of your armor around us?"

Weiss sighed, dropping her gaze briefly. " _Elek_ ," she whispered.

"Well… okay, then."

The brunette let go and stepped over to the side of the room where she slipped her boots and socks off with her toes, then quickly unzipped her worn black jumpsuit the rest of the way, dropping it to the floor as well. Left in only a pair of black panties and her tattered red tanktop, she darted over to the edge of the bed next to Blake and sat, her arms crossed in front of her and a bright blush adorning her face.

"I- Is this b- better?" she stammered anxiously, staring at the floor of the cabin.

Weiss cleared her throat, blinking rapidly at the sight. "Er… _cyar'ika_ , really, you don't need to…"

"But I want you to be comfortable," the brunette returned, finally looking up. Though her blush was unrelenting, there was a fierce determination behind her silver eyes. "I want you to… to be okay… with this. With us."

"It's not… I mean, not just…" Weiss let out an irritable huff, though she couldn't hide the pleased smile from how much the diminutive mechanic's actions meant to her. " _Vor entye_ , truly, for trying to… accommodate me… I know I'm… difficult…"

"We merely wish to understand," Blake interjected softly. She stood with a swift motion, shucking off both boots and leggings to drop them onto the floor next to Ruby's discarded clothing along with her robe, leaving her only in a long, sleeveless off-white tunic. As she settled back down next to Ruby, the brunette leaned her head against the Cathar's shoulder. "Will you talk to us?" Blake continued. "Please?"

Weiss nodded, resuming her pacing. Her gaze was focused on the floor, as the sight of her girlfriends sitting on the edge of her bed, half-naked at that, was entirely too distracting.

_Haar'chak, haar'chak, haar'chak…_

"Very well," she finally murmured, stopping before her displayed armor and gazing at it consideringly. "I had a… difficult time, becoming a Mandalorian. I'd thought, perhaps, that my lineage as an Echani would help somewhat, but it didn't matter. While the Mandalorians as a society will accept _aruetiie_ into their ranks, it is not easy for them to attain such a status."

She closed her eyes, the distant memories flitting across her mind like the winter moths of Maramere. "Once I was accepted as one, as a Mandalorian, I wore my _Beskar'gam_ constantly. Many _vode_ go without when they relax, but I cannot allow myself to do so, I must always… always portray the image of a Mandalorian so that I would never be mistaken for anything else."

Weiss sighed as she turned around, rubbing her arms with her hands. "I realize this seems like a foolish thing to be… er… hung up over, but it's been a decade, now. I remove my _Beskar'gam_ to wash and repair. Sometimes I even sleep it in, it's like… a second skin to me."

"You're safe when you wear it," Blake continued softly, knowingly. "It protects you in body and spirit."

" _Elek_ ," Weiss whispered. "And now, standing before you as such, I feel… more than exposed, I feel raw and… and... "

"But you don't have to be scared of us, Weiss… _cyar'ika_ ," Ruby murmured sympathetically. "It's just us, and… Um, I know we haven't known each other all that long, but… I love you, both of you, and I'd trust either of you with my life."

"Believe me, I do feel the same," Weiss nodded rapidly, blinking back the tears that she so desperately did not want to show. _But why not? Do I truly need to keep up the facade of strength before these two women?_ "I just…"

"Weiss," the Cathar Jedi interjected after a moment's pause. "What do _you_ want? What would you like?"

She let out a huff as she glanced away, blushing. "I want to be able to be intimate with you," she whispered faintly. "With the both of you."

"Then… perhaps we can help you relax some?" Blake was smiling warmly at her once she looked back again.

Ruby stood up, her hands clasped shyly at her waist. "M- Maybe you'd get more comfortable with us, um, if we… um…"

Weiss laughed gently as the brunette chewed on her bottom lip, glancing down at the Echani's mouth. "Oh, _cyar'ika_ ," she murmured, stepping forward to gather Ruby up in her arms. "How do you manage to be so unbearably _copikla?_ "

"It's not like I try," Ruby mumbled abashedly into her shoulder.

"Force preserve us if you ever do," Blake chuckled.

With a smile, Weiss pulled back, pressing a warm kiss onto the brunette's lips. Ruby eagerly reciprocated as they wrapped their arms around each other, and the platinum-haired woman couldn't help but feel the soft warmth of her girlfriend's body as it pressed up against her.

 _This isn't so bad,_ she mused internally. _It's nice, actually… and it's been such a very long time…_

When they broke apart, both wore matching blushes and pleased grins.

"Better?" Ruby breathed.

"Much," Weiss sighed happily.

"You know," Blake drawled. "I imagine it'd be far more comfortable over here."

The two petite girls glanced over to see the Cathar now lounging against the head of the bed, pillows piled up in the middle behind her. The raven-haired woman patted the bed on either side of her.

"Come join me, please," she murmured.

The both of them gladly complied, Ruby sliding in next to her while Weiss was far more interested in crawling into Blake's lap. Crouched at the foot of the bed, she suddenly frowned.

"Blake, is your back…?"

"I'm fine, really." The raven-haired woman gave her a soft, inviting smile. "Come here."

Obediently, Weiss straddled her, hands resting on her shoulders while the Jedi grinned widely from under her.

"Feeling a little dominant, are we?" Blake questioned humorously.

"Oh, you have no idea," Weiss replied huskily, darting in for a kiss. The Cathar eagerly wrapped her arms around her to pull them in close together. Meanwhile, Ruby planted small kisses along both of their arms before resorting to simply rubbing her cheek along Blake's arm, covered in downy but sparse fur.

"Sooo soft…" Ruby squealed quietly, causing the other pair to break apart with giggles.

"Weiss is right," Blake chuckled. "You are entirely too cute… er, _copikla_ … for your own good."

Ruby laughed as Weiss slid off of the Cathar's lap, allowing Blake to pull the Corellian in close next. "What can I say, natural talent."

"Among other things," Blake grinned before sealing a passionate kiss against Ruby's lips.

As she lay against the both of them, running her hands along their arms and hair, Weiss gazed wonderingly at the sight. _How did I end up like this, so… so_ jate'karayc _, so lucky, to have these two incredibly_ mesh'la _women here in my quarters, in my life? In my heart?_

When Blake and Ruby finally broke apart, the brunette laughed breathlessly, slumped against the Cathar's chest still. "Wow," she murmured happily. "I could seriously get kriffing used to this, you guys."

"Mmm." Blake's amber gaze switched between the other two women, mirth dancing behind her eyes. "I could as well. But speaking of which…"

" _Elek?_ " Weiss breathed, still entranced by the sensation of the lightly-furred skin of the Cathar under her hand. "Speaking of what?"

"You mentioned… being intimate…"

"Oh." The blush was back in full force now, and she removed her hand bashfully. "Er… _lek_ , so I did."

Blake smirked at her reaction. "Just how intimate were you thinking?"

"Well…" The Mandalorian cleared her throat as she shifted her head against the pillow. "As intimate as the two of you would like," she finally admitted, her voice barely audible.

"Mmm." Blake's hand came up to run through the red-tipped tresses of the brunette girl lying across her chest. "And what about you, _ad'ika?_ Are you wanting to go there?"

Ruby's blush was likely bright enough to be picked up by a ship's long-range sensors. "Um," she squeaked. "Y- Yeah, I mean… I really, _really_ wanna go there… Like, tonight, even."

"Truly?" Weiss asked, a bit shocked but rather pleased at the response as well.

The brunette just buried her head deeper into Blake's chest, nodding furiously.

Laughing softly, Blake reached her other hand across to trail along Weiss' cheek while she kept up her attentions to Ruby's hair. "I am certainly willing to as well. I should probably inform you both, however… I've been with multiple lovers in the past."

"I had the feeling," Weiss murmured, her eyelids fluttering as the downy softness of the back of Blake's hand caressed her cheek. "Er… a variety, I take it?"

"Well, yes… male and female, and some in between depending on the species…" Blake chuckled lightly. "I must say, however, I've never been with two beings at once. Nor with anyone so very enrapturing as either of you or in a relationship such as we share."

The Echani smiled at that, but then cleared her throat. " _Elek._ Well, then, since we are… er… disclosing… I have only been with one being." Her hand closed on Blake's, stilling it. "Actually, it was… It was Pyrrha."

"Really?" Ruby piped up curiously. "Huh, I never would have figured that."

"We were young, lonely, and… er… more than a little horny," Weiss admitted with another blush. "Afterwards, though, we both quickly realized we worked better together as partners and _vode_ than… lovers. But, I have not been with anyone since."

"Hmm." Ruby buried her face back into Blake's chest, finally mumbling out something that neither woman could make out.

"What was that, _cyar'ika?_ " Weiss murmured in amusement.

The brunette let out a huff. "I've… never been with anyone."

"Mmm." Blake shared a wide grin with Weiss. "Well, then, you know what that means?"

Nodding, the Echani reached over and pulled Ruby off of Blake and in between the both of them, the petite Corellian uttering a startled _eep_ as she flopped onto her back.

"That means," Weiss whispered eagerly. "You get to be in the middle, first."

"O- Oh?" the brunette stammered.

Blake nodded as she ran her hand along Ruby's side. "Are you ready for this, _ad'ika?_ " she purred.

" _Shab_ yes!" Ruby squeaked, causing Weiss to bark out a quick laugh. The diminutive mechanic joined in with a giggle that turned into a breathy moan as the Mandalorian's nimble fingers eased up under her tank top, running along her abdomen. Blake lowered her head to plant a series of small kisses along her collarbone.

The brunette was reduced to a quivering bundle of bliss once Weiss started in on the other side of her neck.

"Oh am I _ever_ ready!"

* * *

 _Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance):_  
 **Yang Xiao Long** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, talented pilot, and droid tinkerer.  
 **ZW-31** \- Yang's custom astromech droid.  
 **Ruby Rose** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, skilled mechanic, and gun nut.  
 **P3-NY** \- Ruby's astromech droid.  
 **Lady Salem** \- Rattataki female. Sith Lord and advisor to the Emperor.  
 **Lady Cinder Fall** \- Human female. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Darth Hazel** \- Sith Pureblood male. Sith Lord Warrior.  
 **Darth Tyrian** \- Zabrak male. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Emerald Sustrai** \- Twi'lek female. Sith Marauder.  
 **Mercury Black** \- Human male. Sith Warrior.  
 **Weiss Schnee** \- Echani female from Eshan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Pyrrha Nikos** \- Human female from Alderaan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Jaune Arc** \- Human male from Mandalore. Mandalorian bounty hunter trainee.  
 **Hei "Junior" Xiong** \- Human male from Tatooine. Gangster and information broker.  
 **Melanie Malachite** \- Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
 **Miltia Malachite** \- Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
 **Blake Belladonna** \- Half-Cathar female from Cathar. Jedi Master.  
 **Lie Ren** \- Mirialan male from Makeb. Jedi Apprentice to Master Belladonna.  
 **Master Ozpin** \- Human male from Coruscant. Jedi Master and Council Member.  
 **Nora Valkyrie** \- Human female from Ord Mantell. Republic Commando.  
 **Neptune Vasilias** \- Devaronian male from Nar Shaddaa. Migrant Merchants' Guild.  
 **Sun Wukong** \- Zabrak male from Nar Shaddaa. Grifter, middle-man, thief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** Embrace the fluff, for it is fluffy. And yes, even in a Star Wars tale I can get all fluffy about it. So, now we have the third starship out of dock, Collateral Damage! And ending with Newspaper sexitimes. Just about halfway through this story, so let's get the plot moving along finally, shall we?
> 
> Stay shiny!


	11. Chapter 11

**Nar Shaddaa**

The pair of Mandalorians walked along the familiar pathway, their colorful armor lit up by the garish holographic signs that spread above them. Normally, Weiss would have Pyrrha at her side, the two of them presenting an imposing enough sight that most who might otherwise oppose them would scurry away in fear.

This particular time, however, they had an additional member of their party along. Hence Pyrrha's other familiar position, watching Weiss' back.

"Y'know," Yang mused, her left hand resting on the heavy blaster strapped to her hip while her cybernetic arm swung easily at her side, "I really didn't expect you to ask me along."

" _Elek?_ " Weiss questioned curiously. They hadn't bothered giving the blonde a comm unit as they were not expecting trouble, so she kept her external mic open. "You did not make any protest."

"Eh, I was curious, figured you'd tell me eventually."

"Hmm." Weiss turned her helmet slightly to regard the taller Corellian woman next to her. "I've come to value your knowledge with regards to the underworld. While this contact is _kar'taylir_ … that is, known to us, I would like to ensure he is _jate_. On the level."

"Gotcha," the blonde replied cheerfully. "Plus, we're goin' to a bar, maybe we can have a drink while we're there?"

"Perhaps. I've been meaning to ask you…"

"Yeah, boss-lady?"

_snikt_

"Um, sorry… I mean, yeah, Weiss?"

_snikt_

"How is it I keep finding you with a chilled bottle of what seems to be some sort of alcohol in your hands?" Weiss asked curiously. "I do not recall ever seeing such aboard."

"It's Corellian ale," Yang responded with a grin and a wink. "And I have my ways. I'm a woman of many talents."

" _Kandosii!_ " Pyrrha chuckled from behind them. "I believe the entire ship knows just how talented you are…"

"Nora does have a set of lungs on her," Yang conceded, grin unabating.

Weiss just shook her head slowly. "Next port of call with a shipyard, I'm refitting with soundproofed interior bulkheads. I eventually found Ruby with her head buried under the pillow."

"Uh-huh," Yang chortled. "Your pillow, am I right?"

"Er… _elek_."

"Noticed she ain't been coming back to the room… So, how's that going?"

Weiss cleared her throat, grateful for her _buy'ce_ that covered her blushing face. "Fine," she finally replied, wincing at the squeaky tone to her voice.

The blonde threw her head back and barked out a laugh. "Right, just 'fine'? You're sleepin' with two women at once, one of whom is my lil' sister, I kriffing well hope it's going better than 'fine'..."

"What do you want me to say, Yang?" she retorted irritably. "It's _kandosii'la_ , amazing, alright?"

"That's better," the Corellian pilot returned smugly. She paused for a beat, her voice sobering. "And… is she… okay with it?"

Weiss let out a sigh. "Yes, she is, Yang. I promise."

"Okay, good. Just… wanted to check…" Yang rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "I feel a lil' weird asking her about it, y'know?"

"You care for your sister very much," Pyrrha spoke up, the warmth easily bleeding through the electronic filtering.

"Yeah, she's…" The blonde swallowed, glancing away and off to the side. "She's all I got left. I just wanna make sure she's happy."

"She is," Weiss murmured. "We all are, truly."

"Good, good." Yang cleared her throat, becoming more businesslike. "So! Anyone else notice we keep coming back to this kriffing planet?"

"Our path does seem to keep leading us back here, doesn't it," Pyrrha answered wryly.

The trio came to a stop before a dilapidated-looking bar. The holographic sign overhead was only partially working. No letters were showing, just a sputtering picture of what looked to be a dead Womp Rat on its back.

"I've always wondered…" Pyrrha glanced around curiously. "What is the actual name of this place?"

"No idea," Weiss shrugged, pausing before leading the way inside. "Just so you know, this contact of ours… he's uncooperative and a buffoon at times, but knows his stuff. Please keep quiet and remain in the background, for now, _troch?_ "

Yang nodded casually. "Yep, gotcha."

The interior of the bar was a fairly decent reflection of the exterior, dimly lit and filled with a wide variety of sentient species, even some droids who were accompanying the revelers. Small droids the size of ZW-31 wheeled deftly through the crowd, trays of drinks bolted atop their heads.

"This way," the alabaster-armored woman stated curtly.

They made their way through the boisterous patronage, most immediately moving out of the way of the determined Mandalorian warrior. Those who did not were shouldered aside and any protest died on their lips as they took in the fearsome procession.

Eventually, they ended up at the far back of the establishment where the lights were even dimmer and secluded booths lined the wall. Weiss came to a stop at a booth that had a scruffy-looking Zabrak with tanned skin and spiky blonde hair that went well with the horns that dotted the top of his head.

"You're late," he smirked, leaning back in his seat. The open white vest he wore slipped back to reveal his muscled abdomen, but then he shot to his feet, slamming his drink onto the table.

" _You?!_ " he shouted incredulously.

Yang stepped around Weiss, grinning sardonically. "Yep, me. How'ya been, Sun?"

"How've I…? You gotta lotta nerve showing your ugly mug around here," the Zabrak growled.

The blonde woman's grin turned into a wide smirk. "Oh, now, that's just hurtful coming from a kriffing Hutt-spawn like you."

"Oh, _shab_ ," Weiss moaned over the Mandalorians' shared frequency. "This was supposed to just be an easy meet…"

"Are you regretting bringing our pilot along, _ner vod?_ " Pyrrha returned humorously.

"Right now, I'm trying to decide which one to shiv," she growled in response. "Perhaps both."

" _Udesiir, ner vod…_ "

The Zabrak male and Human female stared at each other, unblinkingly though with hands twitching at their sides. Suddenly, as if from some unseen signal, the both of them broke out into wide smiles and hearty laughter.

"Shavit, Yang, it's been too long!" Sun shouted happily, closing the space in between them and wrapping the blonde up in a tight hug.

"Yeah, it has, Sun…" Yang laughed. "Seriously, man, how have you been? Haven't seen you in… Sithspit, it's been years!"

"Yeah, I retired from the whole smuggling gig, I keep my feet on the ground now and do jobs as a middleman… Kriffing safer, I'll tell you that much…"

"What, seriously? And I suppose you're no longer a grifter, either?"

"Hey, now, I still gotta have my fun somehow!"

The two Mandalorian women slowly turned to face each other while the other pair joked and landed mock punches on each other's shoulders.

"I've somehow lost control of this situation," Weiss mused over their helmet comm.

" _Ner vod_ , you never had control."

"Oh, _k'uur,_ " Weiss muttered without any real heat.

Pyrrha giggled softly. "Yes, dear."

Eventually, with their helmets on the bench beside them, both Mandalorians were seated with the Zabrak and the blonde Corellian, ordered drinks in hand. Yang and Sun both were chugging mugs of ale, while Weiss and Pyrrha ordered tumblers of _tihaar_ , a powerful Mandalorian alcoholic spirit distilled from a variety of fruit.

Pyrrha let out a happy sigh as she licked her lips, lowering her small glass onto the table. "Oh, it's been quite some time since I've had proper _tihaar_."

Her partner nodded amicably. " _Elek,_ I didn't even realize they had it here. Granted, it's better mixed with _shig_ …" Weiss smiled softly, remembering the hot beverage she'd first tasted on Mandalore. The citrus-flavored drink was the only thing she'd found to relax her after a grueling day of proving herself during training.

"What isn't?" the redhead returned with a giggle. "So, then, Sun, you were saying?"

"Right, right…" The Zabrak downed the last of his drink, letting out a loud belch as he sat it down with a _bang_. "So, Sith Lords… Yeah, wish I could help you ladies out, but I haven't heard of any fitting that description. Don't really run in those circles."

"Probably better for your health that way," Yang murmured, tapping her artificial fingers on the tabletop. Seeing that, Sun let out a chuckle.

"So, what's the newest story?"

"Er, pardon?" Weiss prompted, perplexed.

"With the arm," he laughed, gesturing towards Yang broadly. "Every kriffing time, it's something new with how she lost her arm. So, what is it this time?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Yang replied loftily.

Sun gave her a skeptical look. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yep, my story's always real enough." The blonde sat back with an adamant huff. "Dunno why you never believe me."

"Because it changes every time!" he retorted. With a smile, he gave her a regal nod. "Very well, then, Miss Xiao Long, do tell. How did you lose your arm?"

She sat forward once again, a gleam in her lilac eyes. "So, there I was, cornered and alone, facing a pair of bloodthirsty Sith…"

Weiss let out a soft snort as she took another sip from her tumbler of fragrant _tihaar._

 _She's still full of_ osik _. But maybe someday I'll get the real story out of her_ _..._

**Nar Shaddaa  
** **Migrant Merchants' Guild**

Neptune Vasilias let out a long, relieved sigh as the door to his quarters came into sight. The last few days had seen a flurry of activity as he attempted to rebuild from the disastrous attempt to capture a particularly lucrative bounty.

The Guild leadership stopped just short of demoting the Devaronian for his extreme lack of good judgment. His punishment was tempered only by the fact that the dead Trandoshan mercs did not require paying, at least, and that the presence of a Jedi was completely unforeseen.

"Kriffing Jedi," he grumbled as he entered his room, the door swishing closed behind him. "Spice take the lot of 'em, nothing but trouble…"

"Oh, now," a soft voice spoke up from directly behind him. "That's just rude."

Neptune let out a startled _squawk_ as he spun and stumbled backwards, his hand scrabbling for his blaster before he froze in terror. He instantly recognized those glowing amber eyes that peeked out from beneath the dark grey hood.

"M- Master Jedi!" he stammered, smiling weakly as he slowly lowered himself into the chair behind him. "What a… pleasant surprise! Er… no hard feelings, I hope?"

"Mmm." The Cathar woman slid by him, seemingly interested in the wall shelf full of the memorabilia he'd collected from around the galaxy. "Jedi are taught to abstain from such recriminations."

"Oh, well, that's-"

"Unfortunately for you, I'm not a very good Jedi."

"O- Oh…" The Devaronian's hand crept back down towards his blaster, but he froze again at a soft clearing of a throat from the back by the doorway. Standing there, his hands tucked into the sleeves of his dark green robes, was a Mirialan male with long hair. His eyebrows were quirked questioningly as if wondering whether or not he'd need to teach Neptune a lesson in manners.

 _Shavit!_ Another _kriffing Jedi? How did two of them get into my quarters in the middle of the karking Guild complex?_

"Now, then, Mr. Vasilias," the Cathar woman spoke up as she turned to face him again. "I have a way for you to make this… affront… up to me."

"Oh, certainly, certainly!" Neptune grinned disarmingly. "You name it, I can get it! Weapons, spice, information..."

"Information." The Jedi tilted her head, regarding him levelly. "I'm looking for a Sith Lord, purported to be here on Nar Shaddaa. He's a rather large Sith Pureblood male by the name of Darth Hazel."

"Oh, yes, yes, I know exactly who you mean!" he exclaimed in relief. "Yes, he's been working with the Kintan Kings, helping them come into more territory, more power… But he's got a complex of his own, spends most of his time there, from what I understand. I can even give you directions!"

The Devaronian paused, stamping down on his nervousness. Part and parcel of how he came to be so successful within the Guild was his ability to negotiate, to always close the deal. Make sure everyone walked away happy.

And, of course, that he was always left with the upper hand.

The Cathar woman stared at him unblinkingly for a few seconds before giving him a slow nod. "Very well, then, give us the directions and we shall consider your... debt to us repaid in full."

Alone in his room once more after having given the pair of Jedi directions leading them to a stronghold just outside the Red Light Sector, Neptune slumped wearily at his desk, cradling his horned head in his arms.

"This was a bad idea, a very bad idea," he moaned. At the knock at his door, his head shot upright, the long, blue-painted horns almost knocking over his desk lamp. "Enter!" he called out.

Really, he shouldn't have been surprised at the next visitor that evening.

"I suppose you noticed them leave, did you?" he asked warily.

"I did, yes," the Twi'lek woman purred. She lifted her hands up to pull her hood back. Neptune idly noticed that several fingers on her left hand were a lighter shade of green than the rest of her skin. "They did not see me, of course. Is it done?"

"It is, yes, my Lady." The Devaronian swallowed nervously as he plastered a professional smile on his face. While he'd often stated he could negotiate better than a Jedi mind trick, working with the Sith always left him on edge. "Got them pointed in the right direction, just like you asked. Er… I'm assuming my standard fee rate will suffice?"

"Hmm." With a wicked smile, Emerald leaned forward, tracing a long fingernail along his red-hued jawline. "I think, in this instance… we'll go with double."

"Double?"

"Indeed. This job you have done for us will go a long ways for placing me… placing _us_ ," she corrected herself absently, "in very high esteem with my Mistress. The service you have done for me… is almost priceless."

Neptune chuckled nervously. "'Priceless' is something Alderaanians only use to describe things they still own. Know what I mean?"

"Quite true, my little Devaronian." The Twi'lek woman leaned back again, a pleased smile on her face. "Do remember, though, the conditions."

"Oh, yes, absolutely." Neptune raised his hands up to shoulder-height. "I'm not stupid enough to rat you out to the Jedi, this little conflict is all yours, I want no further part of it."

"Good boy," she smiled, crimson eyes glinting hard. Without another word, she spun on her heel and strode from her room, black robes flapping around her.

His forehead hit the desk with a _thunk_ as the doors swished closed. "You know," he mused to himself, "I hear moisture farming on Tatooine is relatively unexciting. Might even consider it a vacation."

At another knock at his door, he sat upright yet again with a scowl. "Kriffing what _now?_ " he growled. "Enter!"

Fortunately, this time his visitor was no more than one of the Guild lackeys. "Uh, hey, boss?" the diminutive, mouse-like Chadra-Fan female squeaked out. "Um, not tryin' to be nosey or anything… But did I see first a coupla Jedi, and then a Sith, leave from here?"

"You did indeed, Selea," he sighed, rubbing at his face wearily. "Welcome to my life."

"So… who arya workin' for?"

"Myself, of course." He dropped his hands, grinning at the small grey-furred woman who often curried for his favor. Deciding that it wouldn't do any harm to allow the Guild Member into his confidence, he lowered his voice conspiratorially. "So, those Jedi, they wanted info that I just so happened to have been paid by the Sith to plant. I got the Jedi off my back, with no way for it to come back to me…" He spread his hands out. "Since it was the actual truth… And the Sith get their little ambush nicely set up to be sprung like durasteel jaws around a Gundark."

The Chadra-Fan shuddered briefly. "I don't like the Sith, they scare me… Jedi, though… Jedi are all talk."

Neptune chuckled, a touch of anxiousness only hinted at in his voice. "No, _I'm_ all talk. Jedi are something else entirely."

**Nar Shaddaa  
** **Red Light Sector**

Emerald Sustrai walked unhurriedly along the alleyway behind the towering structures. The fronts of the buildings were lined with bright neon lights and holosigns, both live and simulated exhibits of flesh on display for the mewling, sweating masses. The main part of the Red Light District was a cacophony of colors, smells, and sound, all vying for attention, for credits, for temporary solace from the pain of life.

The back alleys, though, were where the public stayed away from. It was home to robbers, murders, and organ harvesters.

Her kind of place, really.

Any of the criminal denizens that she came across gave her proper obsequiousness, of course. They well knew the Sith Lord who dwelled nearby, and by proxy, knew who he associated with. And they were far too canny to risk their survival over insulting one of the servants of the Dark Side.

Eventually, she reached her destination, waving her hand at the door to disengage the lock. She frowned slightly at the discolored fingers on her left hand, once again stoking the white-hot furnace of her rage at the treatment she'd received at the hands of the Cathar Jedi.

"Next time," she grated out, stalking along the narrow corridor. "Next time, it will be your head lying on the floor, not my fingers."

"Ohhh, poor little Twi'lek girl," a male voice sang out from the room ahead. "Still moaning about losing your itty bitty digits?"

Emerald sighed as she passed the threshold, glancing over at the Zabrak who was crouched on a chair, backside resting on his heels as usual. "Lord Tyrian," she returned levelly. "I wasn't expecting you back so soon."

"Hmm, yes, one rarely does." Tyrian snickered softly, rocking back and forth on his toes. "I do tend to come and go as I please, don't I?"

A semi-amused snort caused her to turn and glance at her sometimes partner. "Still hung up over the fingers?" Mercury asked idly. He was sitting back on the upholstered couch, arms crossed before him. "Thought the grafts took well enough."

"They have," she responded slowly, uncertain where his sudden concern over her well-being was coming from. More often than not, they were at each other's throats, vying for the favor of their Mistress. "I find it… useful to regard them as a reminder, as a… focus for my hatred."

The grey-haired Human nodded levelly. "'Least you didn't need cybernetics," he grunted, looking away disinterestedly. "Takes longer to recuperate."

Suddenly, Darth Tyrian was there, perched on the edge of the couch next to the other Sith male. To his credit, Mercury didn't react at all, though Emerald couldn't stop herself from flinching.

"Oh, yes, and you would know all about that, wouldn't you?" the Zabrak giggled. He rapped the long hilt of his unlit lightsaber against both of Mercury's knees, grinning at the sharp metallic sound it produced. Cackling, Tyrian launched himself back out of the couch and cavorted back to his original perch, spinning in place before crouching atop the chair yet again, chin resting in both fists.

"How can you put up with him so readily?" Emerald murmured out of the corner of her mouth, almost subaudibly.

"Because I value my life," he returned just as softly, without looking in her direction. "And I know how to bide my time."

She frowned at that, stalking around to sit at the other end of the couch. It was something she'd had to work at, patience. And it was a skill she had yet to master.

The holoterminal display in the middle of the room sprang to life, then, and she leapt back to her feet. The Twi'lek's mouth spread into a wide, pleased smile at the sight of her beloved mistress.

"Ah, good, both of my faithful servants are present," Cinder murmured with a small smile. She turned and gave a short bow to the Zabrak male. "Lord Tyrian."

"Lady Cinder," he grinned, the tone mocking and light. Emerald quickly pushed down on the hot flash of anger at the disrespect shown to her mistress. _Patience. I must remain patient, like Mercury, until the right moment. And then we shall see who is more worthy to take down this insane fool. I shall attain my rightful place at my mistress' side… one day..._

The raven-haired Human, though, seemed to brush off the slight, instead turning back to her two apprentices. "Report," she requested calmly.

Mercury, of course, beat her to the punch. "My Lady, the forces have been requisitioned and are in position."

Emerald was quick to jump in right on his heels. "And they have taken the bait. The Jedi who we fought on Hoth received the information. I confirmed she and the other Jedi with her are on the way back to the ship, likely to bring everyone along."

"Very good, both of you," Cinder purred. "Even as powerful as you say this Jedi was, we should be able to handily deal with her and the others as my Lady Salem wishes." She tilted her head to view the Zabrak male who was quietly humming to himself. "And you, Lord Tyrian? Are you ready to do your part?"

"As always," he retorted with a giggle. "I am a weapon poised above the throat, ready to slice, slice and dice…"

"Indeed," a rumbling bass voice commented from the doorway. Emerald twisted around to see the hulking form of a Sith Pureblood male walk in, his red skin shining in the lighting cast from the holoterminal. "We will all be ready to do our part."

"Excellent." Cinder dipped her head to acknowledge the newcomer, who also gave her a short bow, raising Emerald's estimation of the Sith Warrior.

The raven-haired Human woman's image turned in a circle to take everyone in. "We cannot fail in this," she intoned softly. "Lady Salem grows impatient, and before long the eyes of the Emperor will be upon us and ruin any chance of glory."

With one final, decisive nod, Cinder gave them all a confident smirk. "But we will not fail. I shall see you soon with the prize."

Emerald grinned tightly as the connection was severed and the holoterminal went blank. _Yes, we shall capture our prize… And, the Dark Side willing, I shall also have my revenge..._

* * *

 _Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance):_  
 **Yang Xiao Long** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, talented pilot, and droid tinkerer.  
 **ZW-31** \- Yang's custom astromech droid.  
 **Ruby Rose** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, skilled mechanic, and gun nut.  
 **P3-NY** \- Ruby's astromech droid.  
 **Lady Salem** \- Rattataki female. Sith Lord and advisor to the Emperor.  
 **Lady Cinder Fall** \- Human female. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Darth Hazel** \- Sith Pureblood male. Sith Lord Warrior.  
 **Darth Tyrian** \- Zabrak male. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Emerald Sustrai** \- Twi'lek female. Sith Marauder.  
 **Mercury Black** \- Human male. Sith Warrior.  
 **Weiss Schnee** \- Echani female from Eshan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Pyrrha Nikos** \- Human female from Alderaan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Jaune Arc** \- Human male from Mandalore. Mandalorian bounty hunter trainee.  
 **Hei "Junior" Xiong** \- Human male from Tatooine. Gangster and information broker.  
 **Melanie Malachite** \- Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
 **Miltia Malachite** \- Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
 **Blake Belladonna** \- Half-Cathar female from Cathar. Jedi Master.  
 **Lie Ren** \- Mirialan male from Makeb. Jedi Apprentice to Master Belladonna.  
 **Master Ozpin** \- Human male from Coruscant. Jedi Master and Council Member.  
 **Nora Valkyrie** \- Human female from Ord Mantell. Republic Commando.  
 **Neptune Vasilias** \- Devaronian male from Nar Shaddaa. Migrant Merchants' Guild.  
 **Sun Wukong** \- Zabrak male from Nar Shaddaa. Grifter, middle-man, thief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** Well, shavit. Things are starting to heat up, eh? By the by, I'm not really trying to portray Neptune as a bad guy here, again. He's merely an opportunist. A rather greedy one, granted. And we're at the halfway mark in the story!
> 
> Stay shiny!


	12. Chapter 12

**Nar Shaddaa**

" _An interspecies warrior culture stretching back thousands of years, the Mandalorians live for one purpose: To challenge the greatest opponents in combat and claim victory, for honor and glory. The best are proud fighters driven by a noble code, while the worst are bloodthirsty killers always looking for the next battle. While many act as independent mercenaries, the Mandalorians are divided into clans each answering to their own leader... Initiates can be born into Mandalorian society or inducted from outside; either way, new Mandalorians face harsh trials as they prove themselves worthy and learn the secrets of Mandalorian weapons and armor. The Mandalorians have been loosely allied with the Sith Empire since the Empire's return to the galaxy and played an instrumental role in the Sacking of Coruscant. Though not Imperial subjects, the Mandalorians have an enclave in the Citadel on Dromund Kaas. Their relationship with the Empire is sometimes strained, but the alliance offers one undeniable advantage: Ample opportunity to face the galaxy's greatest warriors, the Jedi."  
__\- Holonet Codex Entry_

"They're late."

Jaune spared a sideways glance at the diminutive mechanic sitting at his side on the ramp leading into the _Myrtenaster_. His _buy'ce_ was sitting on the surface next to him, the volume on the comm inside turned up so that he could hear without wearing it on his head. He'd found that Ruby would talk to him more openly when his facial features weren't concealed.

The blond supposed it was a particularly _aruetii_ requirement to hold a conversation, but as he'd grown rather fond of the brunette, Jaune considered it a minor concession.

After all, anyone who managed to put an actual _shabla_ smile on the face of his usually frigid boss was worth befriending for that trait alone.

"There haven't been any calls, _ad'ika_ ," he replied soothingly. "And you know all of them can take care of themselves, _elek?_ "

"Yeah, I know that…" Ruby sighed as she worked with deft fingers on the disassembled blaster in front of her crossed legs. The tip of her tongue poked out as she quickly snapped the pieces together before slapping the power pack home and letting it rest in her lap.

Jaune didn't comment on the fact that it'd been the third time she'd done so since they'd sat down.

"It's hard, though," she eventually spoke up again with a distant voice, silver eyes focused on the blaster still. "Being left behind, I mean. When Yang and I flew together, we always went everywhere together, y'know? She'd never… I mean…"

Wordlessly, Jaune reached over with his ungauntleted hand and rested it upon the smaller girl's shoulder, giving it a brief squeeze.

"I know she's always gotta feel like she has to look out for me," the brunette whispered. "But I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to her… and I wasn't… wasn't there to…"

"She's got both Weiss and Pyrrha with her," Jaune reminded her. "If there's a _jate'shya_ team of Mandos than those two, I don't know of them."

" _Jate'shya?"_

"Er… better. I don't know of a better team."

Ruby nodded slowly. "They do work really well together… And… Yang can look after Weiss as well, like Pyrrha does…"

"And with Blake and Ren out together, well…" Jaune chuckled. "I can't imagine anyone taking on a pair of _Jetii_ lightly."

"There was this one time on Alderaan," a cheery voice spoke up from above, "some noble got it into his fat head that he didn't need to follow the ruling House, figured he'd maybe make his own little fiefdom."

Both Ruby and Jaune turned slightly to regard the orange-haired Trooper who stood just inside the open airlock, doing maintenance of her own on her massive rotary assault cannon.

"What happened?" Ruby asked, eager as always for stories.

"Well, the Duke of House Organa didn't want to bring it to the notice of the King, who was of the ruling House, Panteer." Nora broke off from her rendition and shot them a grin. "Trust me, it'd take me all kriffing day to explain how the Houses on Alderaan work and even _I_ don't get it completely… Anyway, so we get to the minor House's compound, they've all pulled inside to fortify their position, all of their troops and servants and everything… Blake tells me, 'hold position out here'. Then, she and Ren march up to those karking big doors…"

By this point, Ruby was turned around fully, crouched on her knees and silver eyes alight with curiosity. "Yeah, and?"

Nora stood up from her cannon after plugging the large power pack back in and flung her hands out to the side dramatically. " _BOOM!_ Those doors could have stopped a speeder, but they just fly open before the two of them. All I see is them moving in, lightsabers out… and then nothing."

"Nothing?" the brunette whispered breathlessly.

"Nope. Not until they come walking back out, all calm and serene." Nora barked out a laugh. "Blake had that little smirk on her face, y'know the one? And she just said…"

"House Serrus will no longer be a problem."

Ruby almost fell off of the ramp at the soft words spoken from behind. "Blakey!" she squealed, clumsily regaining her footing and hurling herself into the Cathar woman's arms.

"Hello, _ad'ika,_ " Blake murmured, nuzzling the top of the brunette's head. "Did you miss me?"

"No," came the petulant reply, muffled as it was by the folds of the Jedi's cloak.

Ren smiled slightly as he made his way past, giving both Nora and Jaune a friendly nod. "Anything new?"

" _Nayc_ , it's been pretty quiet," Jaune returned with a smile of his own. He'd grown rather fond of the quiet Mirialan man as well. While the two of them rarely conversed at length, it was incredibly calming to do his armor or weapons maintenance while in the presence of the meditating Jedi.

"Anyways," Nora grunted as she propped her assault cannon up against the bulkhead just inside the airlock door. "They all just laid down their arms after the two of them walked in."

"It wasn't that big of a deal, truly," Blake smiled, still hugging her affectionate girlfriend. "We merely convinced them of the… error of their ways."

"So, what about your mission today?" Jaune asked, slipping his gauntlets back on. "Any luck?"

"Indeed, we have a location." Blake evidently got tired of standing there and, with her arms still wrapped around Ruby, lifted her off of her feet just enough to walk over to the ramp. The brunette let out an _eep_ as she was pulled around, but it turned into a pleased hum once she was settled into Blake's lap and leaning against her chest.

" _Kandosii,_ " Jaune cheered quietly. "Did you let the others know?"

"Only that we were successful." Blake quirked a smile. "I do believe they were in a drinking establishment, from the sound of things, and partaking of rather strong beverages."

At that, Jaune threw his head back and laughed. " _Troch_ , Weiss always did like her _tihaar_ if she could get ahold of it… She can drink both Pyrrha and myself under the table."

"Really?" Ruby giggled. "But… But she's so small!"

"Mmm." Blake tilted her head consideringly. "It might be her Echani heritage. They are, as a species, rather resistant to poisons and disease…"

" _Lek_ , I don't doubt that." Jaune grinned again, reaching for his helmet to put on his head in order to use the comm. "That woman is _atin'la_ as _shab_." He chuckled at the curious look Ruby gave him. " _N'eparavu takisit_ , sorry. _Atin'la_ means tough."

"Well, she certainly is that," Blake agreed. Her amber eyes lit up as her attention focused on the entrance to their berthing space. "Speaking of which… Oh, dear…"

Three figures came into view. The figure on the right in her alabaster armor was struggling to keep the crimson-armored figure in between them upright. Though Weiss wore her helmet, Pyrrha's was grasped in the hand of Yang who supported the tall redhead by the other arm. Between the two of them, they managed to make their way over to the rest of the befuddled crew.

"So," the blonde announced cheerfully. "We now know that Alderaanians can't hold their liquor."

"To be fair," Weiss retorted as she allowed Jaune to take her load, slipping her helmet off with a relieved sigh, "she'd already downed a mug of _tihaar_ before you imbibed her with that… What was it you called that horrible drink?"

Yang chuckled as she helped Jaune steer the mostly comatose Pyrrha up the ramp. "Mad Mrelf. Good shavit, that."

"Oh, Sithspit, Yang!" Ruby admonished, her eyes wide. "You didn't!"

The blonde's continued chuckles, tinged with a bit of an evil undertone, was the only response as they moved out of view.

"Er… potent stuff, then?" Weiss inquired as both Ruby and Blake got to their feet, each one planting a quick kiss on her cheeks. The Echani was rather impressed with herself in managing to contain her blush this time.

"Yeah, it's from Corellia, strongest alcohol I've ever heard of…" Ruby sighed in exasperation as she gave the platinum-haired woman a hug around her armor. "I've heard tales of spacers who woke up on planets completely different from where they started after drinking that shavit."

Blake let out a quiet laugh at that, but before she could take Ruby's place with a hug of her own, Ren spoke up in quiet warning.

"We have company."

Everyone present whipped their heads around to spy a quartet of armored figures approach their landing pad from a service door a little ways away. Their hostile intentions were announced by the way they spread out and unlimbered their weapons.

"Oh, no," Ruby whispered, pulling her blaster out of its holster. "Should we fight or run?"

She spared a glance over her shoulder at the whirring noise followed by determined clanking. Nora strode down the ramp, helmet on and activated rotary cannon cradled competently in her arms. "I say we fight," her electronically filtered voice announced.

Blake nodded, moving forward to partially shield the brunette mechanic. "Make sure you stay behind me, Ruby," she murmured, fingering her unlit lightsaber.

" _Parer_ … Wait." Weiss stepped forward, handing her helmet off to Ruby who tucked it under her free arm. "Let me speak with them."

"They _are_ Mandalorians," Ren commented quietly from where he stood on the other side of Ruby.

The alabaster-armored woman stepped forward, coming to a halt ten paces in front of her ship. In response, the armored figures came to a halt as well. One, wearing tan armor with black and gold highlights, slung her assault cannon over her shoulder as she approached alone.

"I've never heard of a Mando using such a weapon," Blake commented mildly.

"Nope," Nora agreed. "They usually prefer blaster rifles or pistols, as a rule."

"There's one in the back with a sniper rifle," Ruby whispered, peeking out from around her Cathar girlfriend. She flinched as she heard more footsteps approach from behind but then relaxed as Jaune moved up alongside her with Yang resting a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"We know these _vode_ ," Jaune murmured, his voice filtered through the helmet he now wore. " _Udesiir_ , relax, it should be okay."

"Should?" Yang asked sharply.

"Well… there was the one incident on Geonosis…" Jaune let out a huff that made a whiffing sound through his exterior mike. " _Nayc_ , it'll be fine."

"Uh-huh." Looking unconvinced, the blonde Corellian loosened the blaster pistol in her holster. For her part, Ruby kept hers held upright and at the ready.

" _Su cuy'gar, ner vod,_ " Weiss called out levelly once the tan-armored figure came to a stop.

The other Mandalorian pulled her helmet off, revealing a tanned face with chocolate-colored eyes, framed by dark brown hair which was dyed with a gradient that transitioned to a caramel color.

" _Su cuy'gar, ner vod,_ " the Human woman returned, her face not betraying any emotion. "Didn't realize you'd be the renegade Mandalorian specified in the contract, Weiss."

"Life is full of surprises," Weiss answered curtly. "I can't let you take her."

" _Nayc?_ "

" _Nayc._ "

"Hmm." Dark brown eyes scanned the crew lining the front of the ramp leading up to the _Myrtenaster_. If she was particularly concerned about the amount of lethal firepower present, her expression didn't show it. "I see Jaune is still flying with you. Pyrrha, as well?"

Weiss nodded calmly. "Indisposed."

"Drinking again, eh?"

" _Lek._ "

Showing some emotion for the first time, the woman barked out a quick laugh. " _Kandosii_. You know, I was really looking forward to fighting some _Jetiie_."

"Can't let you do that, either, Coco."

With a sigh, the brunette gave her a nod. "Fine."

" _Lek?_ "

" _Troch,_ Weiss, just so long as you tell me why."

The platinum-haired woman let out a huff, crossing her arms irritably. "I don't need to-"

" _Gedet'ye._ "

"...She is my _riduur_."

Coco's mouth dropped open in surprise. " _Nu draar!_ Really?"

" _Elek,_ she is."

"Huh. Well, then, _kandosii!_ " Coco peered at the group once more, consideringly. "And the _Jetiie?_ Why do they accompany you?"

Weiss turned slightly to cough into her fist, clearing her throat. "Blake… that would be the Cathar _Jetii_ … and Ruby… are both my _riduure_."

At that, Coco looked to be about ready to fall over. " _K'uur!_ "

"It is the truth."

Shaking her head, the brunette Mandalorian turned to gesture her companions forward. "Well, then, you must introduce us."

With a nod, Weiss turned to regard the others, a small smile on her face. "Do you mind?"

"Uhhh… N- No, 'course not!" Ruby squeaked out. She still clung to Blake's side as they all approached, both Jaune and Nora removing their helmets.

Jaune stepped past them to clasp forearms with the largest of the newcomers, armored in pale green with brown highlights and with a blaster rifle now slung across his wide shoulders. " _Su'cuy ner vod_. It's been awhile, Yatsu."

A deep chuckle sounded as the helmet was slipped off to reveal the placid face of a Human male with short dark hair. "Indeed, _ner vod_. You're looking good, Jaune."

Weiss gave the introductions of her crew while the other two Mandalorians took their helmets off as well. Then it was Coco's turn.

"The big guy here is Yatsuhashi Daichi," she stated warmly, her face now showing a depth of emotion that seemed incongruous with how she'd faced them earlier. "My _ram'ser_ , sorry, sniper, and medic, here," she gestured towards a Mirialan woman with pale green skin and intricate facial tattoos, brown hair, and armor that was colored brown and yellow, "is Velvet Scarlatina."

The last member stepped up, eliciting a curious stare from most of the Myrtenaster crew. He wore orange and black armor but carried no weapons other than blades set along the outside of his armored forearms. Most striking, however, was the strip of cloth that wrapped around his eyes.

"And then this," Coco continued, "is Fox Alistair. Oh, and in case you missed it, my name is Coco Adel, _Ruus'alor_ of these _vode_."

" _Ruus'alor?"_ Ruby whispered to Jaune, now standing next to her again.

"It's a rank, like a sergeant," Jaune explained quietly. "Loosely translated as a leader, we'd call Weiss that if she let us."

"I apologize for prying," Blake interjected cordially. "But I've never heard of a Miralukan who was a Mandalorian, though I've known a few of your race who were fellow Jedi…"

Fox chuckled, giving a nod as he turned his face towards the Cathar. "Grew up here on Nar Shaddaa with Velvet, until we ended up being taken in by Coco's father. And then, eventually, to Mandalore."

"How can you see?" Ruby asked, quickly ducking her head as soon as the words left her mouth. "Shavit, I didn't mean to actually ask that out loud…"

"It's quite alright, _ad'ika_ ," the tanned, orange-haired man replied with a laugh. "Most of my kind have some sort of affinity towards the Force, enough to allow us to, well, 'see', but I have extra enhancements to my _buy'ce_ , my helmet, that allow me to function effectively in battle."

The gathering broke up soon after Coco revealed the source of the new bounty to be the same as the previous one, though it'd been specifically targeted for Mandalorians. Coco offered to bring her _vode_ from the _Myrtenaster_ back to the Mandalorian enclave there on Nar Shaddaa to retrieve the details and perhaps do something to limit the possibility of another _vod_ taking the _Darjetiie_ up on their offer.

While Weiss quickly agreed, Yang was just as fast to lay a restraining hand on her arm.

"Any way you could let Jaune handle this?" she asked, lilac eyes probing. "I thought it'd be a good time for you, me, an' Blake to have a chat over a few drinks."

Weiss looked at the blonde askance. "I thought we just did that."

"Nothing stronger than ale, promise!"

"Mmm." Blake glanced between her girlfriend and the earnest-looking sister of her other girlfriend. "I accept."

"Oh, _troch_ , very well," Weiss sighed, waving Jaune along. " _Gedet'ye,_ don't make me regret this…"

"Hey," Yang replied, affronted and holding her cybernetic hand to her chest. "It's me!"

 **Nar Shaddaa  
** **Unknown Bar**

"What I don't understand," Weiss mused into her relatively clean glass of Lomin ale, "is why none of these establishments have actual names outside of them."

"It's so they don't get raided," Yang explained as she knocked back a swallow of her own ale. "Every so often, the actual government here, the one run by the Hutts, try to establish some sorta order, maybe make sure everyone's current on their kickbacks, that sorta thing. But if they can't actually find the place…" The blonde shrugged guilelessly. "Can't raid it."

"I'm certain I could actually argue with that train of logic," Blake mused, peering into the depths of her own Lomin ale. "But I lack the desire to do so." She tilted her head back as she drained the last of her glass, signaling the male Twi'lek bartender for another. "So, Yang, what is on your mind?"

The Corellian pilot let out a sigh from where she sat to the right of Weiss. The Cathar was on the other side, with the alabaster-armored woman in between.

"Right… This is kinda tough, y'know?"

Weiss blinked her eyes in confusion. "Er… are you… referring to us? The two of us, with your sister?"

"Not… exactly. I mean, yeah, sure, that's some of it…" Yang tapped her metal fingers on the bar surface to get the bartender's attention, signaling for a refill. The lights in the smoky bar were dim enough that the rest of the clientele in the sparsely-populated room weren't all that visible, and the background hum of noise enough to allow their conversation some modicum of privacy.

"I do believe you made your intentions clear when you first found out," Blake tried to reassure her. "We will not do anything to hurt Ruby, or allow her to come to harm." Her brow was slightly furrowed as she tried to ascertain the feel of Yang's emotions, but they were rather chaotic and muddled at the moment. Whether from the blonde's drinking that day or her own imbibing, was just as unclear.

Wordlessly, Yang grabbed her new glass of ale and tilted it back, downing the contents in one go. Weiss quirked an eyebrow as they waited for the blonde to set her finished drink down with a _bang_.

"Ruby's all I got," the Corellian woman finally stated hoarsely. She cleared her throat before continuing.

"She's all the family I have, it's been just the two of us for some time, and… and I know she's grown up and all, shavit, saved my ass plenty of times in a firefight or two…" Yang shook her head, long blonde tresses swaying as she tapped the bar once more for another refill. Once it arrived, instead of attacking it with her usual gusto, she regarded it intently.

"Look," the blonde stated quietly. "All I've ever wanted was for Rubes to be happy. And… she is, now, with you two, so I'm good with that, I just…" She sighed heavily, knocking back another gulp of ale before lowering her head, face obscured by her hair. "You wanna know the truth? The real truth, about how I lost my arm?"

Weiss and Blake shared a startled glance. "Only if you truly want to tell us," the platinum-haired woman stated with soft reassurance.

Yang nodded before she sat back up, cybernetic arm in front of her. She observed the prosthetic as she slowly rotated her wrist.

"I was all signed up to go to the local flight academy on Corellia," she began in almost a whisper, just loud enough to carry over the background din. "Was about sixteen at the time. Summer... Mom... had left by then some time before, and I was worried about Rubes. Dad was… kinda self-absorbed over losing her." She shook her head irritably. "Not important. Anyway, so I was tryin' to get him to commit, y'know? I didn't… didn't want my lil' sis to have to take care of herself at fourteen when I left…"

Yang knocked back another large gulp before continuing. "We lived in a little town on Corellia called Patch, it was in the countryside, away from the cities and near the mountains. Got into a big row with Dad one day, just… I just couldn't get through to him, he didn't see anything _wrong_ in the way he was… was…"

She set her drink down carefully, almost as if afraid she'd break it, and rubbed at her face with her left hand. "I was mad, shavit, I was so mad… I stormed out, figured I'd go climbing like I always used to do, clear my head… But I got careless, 'cause my temper wouldn't let me see straight, and I slipped halfway up a climb I'd done hundreds and hundreds of times before… Buncha rocks came with me, and when I fell into a crevice, my right arm got buried, trapped me there."

Weiss carefully reached out to rest an ungauntleted hand on her shoulder, and Yang flashed her a quick smile of gratitude before going on. "I blacked out for awhile, it hurt like frizz. When I woke up again… There was Rubes, her face wet with tears as she… she tried to dig me out, her hands were all bloody, and she was… she was cryin' out my name, beggin' me to wake up, to be okay…" Yang sniffled, wiping at her eyes with the back of her left hand.

"She'd followed me, worried about how mad I was. I got her to stop an' go get Dad." Sighing, the blonde knocked back the rest of her glass and set it back down gently. "Arm was a loss, obviously, but Dad had a decent enough job, insurance paid for the new one, here…"

Blake nodded after taking a careful sip from her ale. "But you missed your chance at flight school."

"Yeah, I did." The cybernetic hand closed into a fist atop the bar surface. "Six months later, Dad was gone, went off to find Summer, never saw either of 'em again. But I already knew pilotin', it was in my genes, I suppose, an' Rubbles was great at patchin' stuff up around the homestead… Anyway, we eventually ended up with the _Ember Celica_ and without any shavit left behind on Corellia."

Her left arm propped her head upright as she stared off into the murky darkness of the bar. "I always felt… kinda guilty about putting my lil' sis in danger like that, that she followed me, and that I scared her like that, but it… it brought us closer together, y'know? And I guess… it's kinda pathetic, really, but I'm afraid we'll lose that… that we'd…"

Blake reached around her Mandalorian girlfriend to rest a reassuring hand on the blonde's back. "You know Ruby thinks the galaxy of you," the Cathar stated with conviction. "She'd do absolutely anything for you, and that will never change, no matter who she entrusts her heart to."

Weiss nodded, turning in her seat to regard the Corellian with unusual warmth. "You are her… well, her hero. There's no word in _Mando'a_ for it, the amount of respect and love she has for her _vod,_ her _aliit_ … er, family. You."

"Yeah?" Yang sniffled again before regarding the other two with a wide, though watery, smile. "Well, alright… Shavit, I'm glad we met."

Blake smiled softly, nodding in agreement. "Mmm."

" _Elek, ner vod_ _,_ " Weiss replied solemnly. "I am as well."

* * *

 _Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance):_  
**Yang Xiao Long** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, talented pilot, and droid tinkerer.  
**ZW-31** \- Yang's custom astromech droid.  
**Ruby Rose** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, skilled mechanic, and gun nut.  
**P3-NY** \- Ruby's astromech droid.  
**Lady Salem** \- Rattataki female. Sith Lord and advisor to the Emperor.  
**Lady Cinder Fall** \- Human female. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
**Darth Hazel** \- Sith Pureblood male. Sith Lord Warrior.  
**Darth Tyrian** \- Zabrak male. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
**Emerald Sustrai** \- Twi'lek female. Sith Marauder.  
**Mercury Black** \- Human male. Sith Warrior.  
**Weiss Schnee** \- Echani female from Eshan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Pyrrha Nikos** \- Human female from Alderaan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Jaune Arc** \- Human male from Mandalore. Mandalorian bounty hunter trainee.  
**Hei "Junior" Xiong** \- Human male from Tatooine. Gangster and information broker.  
**Melanie Malachite** \- Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
**Miltia Malachite** \- Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
**Blake Belladonna** \- Half-Cathar female from Cathar. Jedi Master.  
**Lie Ren** \- Mirialan male from Makeb. Jedi Apprentice to Master Belladonna.  
**Master Ozpin** \- Human male from Coruscant. Jedi Master and Council Member.  
**Nora Valkyrie** \- Human female from Ord Mantell. Republic Commando.  
**Neptune Vasilias** \- Devaronian male from Nar Shaddaa. Migrant Merchants' Guild.  
**Sun Wukong** \- Zabrak male from Nar Shaddaa. Grifter, middle-man, thief.  
 **Coco Adel** \- Human Female from Coruscant. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Fox Alistair** \- Miraluka Male from Nar Shaddaa. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Velvet Scarlatina** \- Mirialan Female from Nar Shaddaa. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Yatsuhashi Daichi** \- Human Male from Balmorra. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** And the truth behind Yang's arm is finally revealed. Sorry if some of it was a bit of a tear-jerker. And yay for Mando Team CFVY! They'll be making further appearances down the line… Next up, our heroes assault the enemy! Who will prevail?
> 
> Just a quick heads up - this is actually the last of my buffer. I'm hoping to get some more writing done this weekend, but there's a chance I might need to skip one week.
> 
> Stay shiny!


	13. Chapter 13

**Nar Shaddaa  
** _**Myrtenaster** _

They were all gathered around the central holoterminal. Yang sat on a couch, her legs out in front of her and ankles crossed much as her arms were in front of her chest. Nora, clad in only dark grey workout shorts and tank top, was sitting on the arm next to her, leaning against the blonde Corellian with her turquoise eyes glittering eagerly.

Ren stood towards the rear of the group, stoic as always with his hands tucked into his sleeves and a contemplative look on his emerald green face. Next to him and just in front stood his master, the Cathar woman staring intently at the projection that was slowly rotating above the console table in the middle of the lounge area.

Ruby, for once, was not standing near either of her girlfriends. Instead, she sat alone in a chair she'd pulled up, her hands nervously fidgeting with a blaster power pack in her lap while she chewed on her bottom lip. At her feet, P3-NY warbled quietly, obviously worried about her master's unease. ZW-31 was nearby, offering a soft hoot of reassurance to the tiny droid.

Arrayed on the far side of the display were the trio of Mandalorians that they'd all come to both admire and respect, helmets off and expressions unreadable, though Pyrrha's was still mildly pained from her recent inebriation. The crimson-armored woman stood on the right flank of her partner while Jaune planted his feet apart solidly on Weiss' left, arms crossed.

The alabaster-armored woman sighed softly as she leaned forward, her long platinum ponytail falling over her shoulder. "So this is what we have been able to determine. The Sith compound is located on the near side of the Red Light District, at least, so we'd not need to travel far from the airspeeder station, here."

She reached up to touch a point on the map and it glowed a soft blue before dimming once again.

"One main entrance, here, guarded by droids and sentients alike. Only a small barracks, here, perhaps a dozen soldiers at the most… Several quarters for the actual Sith residents here, here, and here…" At each point, a bright white dot glowed, turning the swiveling image into a starscape.

"The main entrance has far too many chokeholds," Jaune commented absently, his blue eyes narrowed in thought. "What about the side entrances?"

" _Elek_ , there's one here that leads to what seems to be a meeting room." Weiss tapped the holoterminal's surface thoughtfully after highlighting the pair of entrances. "We don't know for certain if there are boltholes this diagram doesn't show…"

"But you know there's gonna be at least one," Yang spoke up.

" _Troch_. So, then, we move in fast and hard, one team to strike and hold the main entrance." The Echani woman stood upright once again, rubbing her hands together. "And then one to move in through the rear."

"What are our objectives?" Blake asked quietly. "I'm assuming we want to capture this Darth Hazel for questioning."

Weiss nodded firmly. " _Elek_ , if at all possible. If not… perhaps the compound itself might reveal its secrets to us."

"So…" Nora piped in unconcernedly. "What kind of team makeup do we want?"

Before responding, Weiss glanced aside at the blue-armored figure standing resolutely next to her. "Jaune… _ner vod_ , you have certainly earned yourself a spot in this assault, but I have a far more important task for you." She cleared her throat, looking away again with a quick blush. " _Gedet'ye,_ " she pleaded quietly.

For his part, Jaune just chuckled mildly. "Well, I do know how much your ship means to you, _vod_ …"

"I didn't… That's not what…" Weiss sputtered irritably.

" _N'eparavu takisit, vod_ ," he laughed, his apology at odds with the mischievous expression on his face. He held his hands up defensively. "I'll keep our _yaim_ and your _riduur_ safe."

" _Utreekov_ ," Weiss grumbled without any heat. If Jaune was offended by being called an idiot, he didn't seem to show it.

"Um, what does _yaim_ mean?"

The Echani woman turned her gaze towards the brunette still huddled into her chair. Pale blue eyes met worried silver orbs.

"It means 'home'," Weiss explained gently. "And… that is what this is to you all now. Your… _our_ home."

"Yeah, it is," Ruby replied with the barest hint of a smile before it slid from her face.

" _Cyar'ika,_ what is wrong? You will be safe here…"

"It's not me I'm worried about," the diminutive mechanic replied in a whisper. "I just… I've got a bad feeling about this, okay? Will you all be as careful as you can?"

"Ruby, with the firepower we have, what's there to worry about?" Nora interjected cheerfully, but Yang laid a warning hand on her girlfriend's knee.

"Don't ever dismiss a Corellian's gut instincts, babe," the blonde stated firmly, her lilac eyes focused on her little sister. "We'll be extra careful, Rubes, promise. I've got everyone's backs, just as they gots mine."

"Okay," the brunette murmured with a small nod. Her hand came to rest on P3-NY's head to quiet the concerned trilling of her droid. "Alright, then, we'll keep the engines warm in case you need us."

" _Elek_ , that's an excellent idea," Weiss responded warmly, giving her a reassuring smile. With a resolute nod, she cleared her throat and faced the others once more. "First team in the front will consist of Nora and Ren, led by Pyrrha. Then Blake, Yang, and myself will go in the back, force our way inside and hopefully drive any opposition into the courtyard here."

"You be the hammer," Nora chuckled anticipatorily. "We'll be the anvil."

"The kriff is an anvil?" Yang asked, mild curiosity in her voice.

The orange-haired girl laughed. "Really old custom on Ord Mantell where I'm from, the farmers like to make their own equipment. See, what they do is…"

Ruby tuned the explanation out as well as the other preparatory orders that Weiss began to issue. She resumed the chewing of her lower lip, unable to dispel the feeling that something in the midst of all this would go horribly, horribly wrong…

Her silver eyes flickered around the group, resting briefly on first her sister and then the platinum-haired Mandalorian. When they passed Blake, her own amber eyes were focused on the brunette, a worried frown on her face.

She just smiled and tried to give as reassuring a look back as she could. Ruby was unwilling to let her Cathar girlfriend be distracted over concerns for her own well-being in the upcoming battle.

_I have so much more to lose now… Force, please keep them all safe…_

**Nar Shaddaa  
** **Red Light District**

Weiss crouched to the side of the door, her blaster held at the ready. Everyone without helmets had been given comms tuned to the same encrypted frequency and Nora's helmet had the channel added to it as well. On the other side was the blonde Corellian woman, her own much heavier blaster held upright and her leather duster pooling to the ground where she crouched as well.

The infiltration so far had been uneventful and, hopefully, unnoticed. Right now she was waiting for word that the first team was ready to move in before they did the same.

She could feel the pulse pounding in her ears. While much of it could be attributed to the normal exultation of an impending battle, part of it was a bit of concern as well for those fighting with her. She'd always cared deeply for her _vode_ that stood at her sides, Pyrrha in particular. The redheaded Alderaanian was a bulwark of strength and confidence for her, but while she was comfortable with the ability of her _vod_ to handle herself, she wasn't as sure about the others. So many untested unknowns, though at least she'd gotten Blake's measure both from sparring with her and in the battle at the Migrant Merchants' Guild. Yang, as well, proved herself that day with highly accurate and destructive blaster bolts into the enemy, unrelenting in the face of fire even unarmored as she was.

Ren and Nora, though… She desperately wished she had switched places with Pyrrha, just so that she could be sure her _vod_ had reliable _narudar_ , allies, at her side.

Though she knew good and well that the stubborn redhead would refuse such a change for the very same reason.

Finally, a soft crackle came over the comm channel as a connection was re-established. "Team one, in place," Pyrrha's light voice came across, stilling her worries as usual.

" _Elek,_ " she responded. "Breaching in _ehn… t'ad… solus!_ "

With a sudden grimace, Weiss realized she'd been counting down in _Mando'a_ , but Blake picked up on the inflection in her voice and was ready to act anyway. The dark-robed Jedi stood up smoothly from where she'd been crouched behind the Mandalorian and cast her hand out firmly.

With a _screech_ of metal, the solid door was flung inwards off of its hinges and sailed inside the building, bowling over a pair of guard droids and landing with a resounding _boom_.

"Whelp, they know we're here now, at least!" Yang grinned as she poked her blaster around the corner, followed by one cautious eye. "Won't have to go chasing them down!"

" _Troch_ , way to find the bright side, Yang," Weiss chuckled, swinging around the corner and taking point. Her blaster focused on the downed droids first, but finding nothing more than scrap parts, she kept it out and probing. Blake moved in next, unlit lightsaber in her hand, while Yang took up the rear, blaster held upright and at the ready once more.

Sure enough, a clatter of boots announced the arrival of guards. Hurtling around the corner, the first few ranks came to a skidding stop at the sight of the white and pale-blue armored Mandalorian warrior.

" _Su'cuy!_ " she greeted them cheerfully as a nozzle popped open on her extended right forearm. As a bright flame wooshed forward, the enemy guards let out wails of anguish and fear, scrambling to either get away from the deadly onslaught or put out their smoldering uniforms.

Between Weiss and Yang, their blasters made quick work of the others. The two of them turned at a humming sound, only to jerk back in surprise as a bright amethyst bar of solid light went sailing over their heads.

Blake's thrown lightsaber impacted against the assault droid's foreleg just as it rounded the corner, staggering it against the wall. Off-balance, it tried to right itself on the other two functioning legs but paused at a clinking sound by its feet. While it only took its processors a mere second to identify the small silvery device at its feet, that was entirely too long for it to respond.

A brilliant flash of light filled the end of the corridor, small pieces of debris scattering throughout the area and a few chunks of the ceiling dropping down.

"Really, Yang?" the Cathar Jedi commented blandly as she regained her footing from where the explosion had knocked the team down.

"Nora gave me a few toys to play with," the blonde grinned unrepentantly, brushing debris out of her long mane of hair. "She's cool like that."

"Must be true love," Weiss snarked. The Mandalorian moved forward once more as they turned the corner and entered the remains of a good-sized lounge. Much of the furniture had been demolished by Yang's explosive charge and some were still smoldering. The group picked their way through the destruction carefully.

"Team one, report," Weiss ordered tersely as they paused outside the doorway leading out.

"Under fire," Pyrrha responded calmly. "Perhaps ten soldiers and only two assault droids so far. They're not making any serious push, yet."

" _Elek_ , continue to hold position, we're moving further inside."

" _Troch._ "

Weiss gave Blake a curt nod. The Jedi Master stood back once again, a smirk on her face as she sent this set of doors exploding inward as well. This time, however, there was no enemy waiting for them, just an empty corridor that led to another wide set of doors with a series of other open portals lining the way.

The trio proceeded cautiously, but each room they came across was empty. They were the quarters for Sith residents and visitors, as well as a small kitchenette area and a storage room.

"Why isn't there anyone here?" Yang whispered. "I mean, can't be that everyone else is attacking the others, right? Blake, you feel anything?"

The raven-haired woman frowned, her feline ears twitching irritably. "Faintly, but… The last time, on Hoth, I was blocked by one of the Sith from noticing them until it was too late…"

Weiss let out a resigned sigh as they paused by the next set of closed doors. "Nothing for it now. We stick to the plan and reinforce each other as needed."

"Right," Yang nodded, taking up the other side of the doorway. "Ready when you guys are."

"Blake?"

The Jedi inhaled deeply, closing her eyes and concentrating hard for a moment. Eventually, she nodded slowly. "I do sense… a few nearby… Hmm, the weaker ones I faced, they won't be a problem. Must be one of them able to mask." Opening her bright amber eyes once again, she grinned tightly. "Very well. Let's do this."

Both hands flung outward, sending the door hurtling forward. They crossed the length of the courtyard to shatter against the far wall, crushing a pair of waiting security droids.

The three rolled out into the courtyard, weapons at the ready, only to freeze in place.

"That," Yang spoke up mildly as she surveyed the forces surrounding them, "is a whole kriffing lot of soldiers and droids."

Before Weiss could respond, she and Yang were sent tumbling forward from an unseen force. Blake spun in place after pushing them out of the way, intercepting the dual lightsabers that descended right where the blonde had been standing.

"Finally," the mint-green Twi'lek snarled. "I've been looking forward to our rematch, Jedi."

"Mmm." The Cathar gave her a smug smirk. "How are the fingers?"

Screeching angrily, the Sith tried to send a kick into Blake's midsection, but she'd already started moving, ending up back-to-back with the others.

From two other directions emerged more Sith, the grey-haired human and double-bladed-wielding crazed Zabrack. The latter was giggling madly, licking the hilt of his lightsaber before igniting the crimson blades.

"Friends of yours?" Yang snarked, blaster tracking the Human Sith stalking forward.

"We danced at Hoth," Blake returned mildly. "They weren't very considerate hosts."

"Pyrrha, _vod_ , push through now." Weiss' order was clipped and urgent. "We're in deep _osik_. Three _Darjetiie_ and multiple _aru'e_."

" _Elek_ , we're moving in now," Pyrrha responded quickly. "Hold those _shabuire_ off, _ner vod_ , we're on our way."

" _Troch_ ," she responded blandly, eyeing the twitching Zabrak male who walked slowly towards her. "No problem."

"Any more toys, Yang?" Blake inquired.

"Yep." Yang holstered her blaster pistol and reached behind her and beneath her leather duster. "Just say the word."

"Weiss, you mind if I take yours?"

" _Nayc_ , be my guest," the Mandalorian replied levelly. "He seems a bit… unsettled."

"Just a bit."

Weiss' display had, by now, targeted every soldier, droid, and Sith in the courtyard, flagging each one by threat level and strength. The _Darjetiie_ stood out in bright crimson. "Go."

Yang whipped her hands out, flinging a pair of silvery disks from each hand. A blinking red light made their path easily followed, but there was no escaping the resulting carnage.

Brilliant explosions lit up the covered area followed by the screams of the dying and wounded. Several droids were immediately disintegrated by the thermal detonators and many others crippled.

One such grenade was hurled in the direction of the grey-haired Sith warrior, but he flung up a contemptuous hand, sending the projectile soaring towards the ceiling. It detonated, sending fiery debris back down. With a bellow, the dark-armored Sith charged forward through the flames, swinging his red lightsaber down in a deadly arc.

He came to a skidding halt, his eyes open wide in bewilderment, as his forearm was caught in a vice-like grasp.

"Surprise," Yang smirked before head-butting him. With a _crunch_ of cartilage and a spray of blood, the Sith man stumbled backwards once her cybernetic hand released him, but by then she was already moving and dodging incoming fire.

Meanwhile, Blake had rolled out of the way of the Twi'lek's force jump, springing back to her feet and giving her a kick to an extended knee. As the Sith went down, screeching in anger, she raced back to help Weiss.

The Mandalorian had already lost her blaster, fortunately not damaged but she'd been forced to drop it in order to deflect the furious onslaught from the dual-bladed lightsaber. Her _beskar'gam_ could hold up against a lightsaber in a limited capacity, especially her reinforced forearms, but this Zabrak was like a dervish. She was forced onto the defensive, unable to get close enough to gain an advantage.

And then a dark grey shape flew overhead, delivering a staggering kick to the Sith Lord's head and sending him backwards. Able to finally catch her breath, Weiss dove to the side and rolled up with her blaster once again, directing new fire into the disorganized troops still surrounding them.

" _Vor'e, cyar'ika,_ " she thanked her girlfriend breathlessly. "You have him?"

"Oh, yes," the Jedi Master murmured darkly as she stalked forward, purple blade held before her. "I have him."

Another explosion at the far end made everyone glance that way to see the invaders' reinforcements enter the courtyard. Nora stood solidly in the middle of the gaping hole where the exit had been, massive rotary cannon held in competent hands and pink-highlighted white armor smudged and singed from blaster fire. She swept rapid blaster fire across the flanks, concentrating on the assault droids with their heavier armor.

Pyrrha strode forward, blaster carbine held to her shoulder as she picked apart the troops. She faltered as a heavy ordinance blaster shot impacted against her side, but Nora quickly silenced the offending assault droid, allowing her to rejoin the others.

Weiss stood with her back to both Pyrrha and Yang, the latter panting slightly from a small burn across her thigh. She'd slapped an emergency patch on it already, and it was only a matter of time before the healing and soothing properties of the bacta went to work.

The alabaster-armored Mandalorian woman sent accurate fire towards the grey-armored Sith warrior, distracting him from his intended path back towards Yang. But then a familiar Mirialan Jedi soared in with emerald lightsabers lit in each hand, one a slightly shorter shoto version. His opponent twisted out of the way before engaging the duel in earnest.

Her heads-up display beeped a warning at her, and she turned just in time to see the green Twi'lek woman soaring in high, both lightsabers held overhead for a devastating strike and a fierce scowl on her face. Without hesitating, Weiss leapt forward to intercept the Sith, head-butting into her stomach and sending her sprawling to the ground. She extended her wrist blade with a _snikt_ , but before she could close in her arm was batted away with a glowing red blade while her opponent regained her footing.

"Looks like your little ambush went sideways on you, _Darjetii_ ," Weiss smirked over her external speakers. "You could always give up."

The Twi'lek chuckled weakly as she rose to her feet, spitting out a wad of bloody phlegm. "You're as bad as the Jedi," she hissed viciously. "So overconfident."

Weiss paused, a frown creeping across her face. "What the _shab_ do you mean by that, _aruetii?_ "

But the Sith woman just let out a nasty giggle as she stalked forward, dual lightsabers twirling lazily. "I know something you don't know…" she sang out darkly.

 **Nar Shaddaa  
** _**Myrtenaster** _

"What's going on?" Ruby asked breathlessly. She sat in Yang's usual seat, bouncing up and down anxiously while Jaune listened into his earpiece from the copilot's chair. Both of the droids were on the bridge as well, staying close by the nervous brunette to offer their reassurances.

The blond Mandalorian shook his head slowly. "Looks like an ambush, but Pyrrha's team is pushing in to meet back up with the others… _Haar'chak._ Three _Darjetiie_ and lots of troops, droids…" He paused, glancing over at Ruby's suddenly pale face. "It's alright, _ad'ika,_ nobody's hurt really, they'll pull out of this…"

"You say that," Ruby whispered. "But that bad feeling is just getting worse."

"Hey, it'll-"

He broke off at a sound from the passageway leading towards the bridge. Both of them turned to see the hulking red-skinned form of a pureblood Sith enter, black robes covering gleaming armor of the same color. His glowing red eyes regarded them dispassionately.

No sooner had his boot crossed the threshold than Jaune was moving. In a blur he was on his feet, blaster pistol whipped from his holster. He sent three rapid shots at the intruder, not bothering to reach for his helmet resting on the console next to him.

The Sith Lord held his hand out, absorbing the blaster bolts as if they were mere pebbles. With one twitch, Jaune's blaster flew across the bridge from the Mandalorian's hand, and another sent the armored blond crashing into the wall.

He lifted his hand and dropped it quickly, several times in a row. Jaune's limp body followed the motion, slamming into the ceiling and deck repeatedly until his battered form lay bleeding and unconscious.

Ruby stood in shock, her hand resting on her still-holstered blaster. She'd not even had the chance to react, barely gaining her feet before her friend was soundly defeated. The glowing red eyes settled on her now.

"You are Ruby Rose," he stated in a grim bass. "If you do not-"

More blaster fire filled the bridge as ZW-31 opened up with his concealed weapon. Irritably, the Dark Lord ignited his lightsaber and batted the fire aside before lightning shot from his free hand. The dark electricity writhed around the little droid, disabling his shields. He fell back against the console behind him on only two wheels, smoke pouring from several ports as his red lights dimmed and went out.

"No," Ruby whispered helplessly, her hand tightening around the blaster's grip. "No, no, no…"

"As I was saying," the Sith rumbled, stalking forward on heavy boots. "If you do not come with me, the lives of those you care about are forfeit. Surrender, and they live. Resist…" The tip of his blade pointed down at the back of Jaune's head where he lay in a crumpled heap.

"Please… Please don't…" Ruby swallowed, slowly withdrawing her blaster and setting it on the bridge console. "I'll go with you, just please don't… don't hurt anyone else…"

The Sith Pureblood nodded gravely. "Wise choice, little one."

Once they were gone, Ruby being pulled along by her shackled hands, a tremulous wail came from a nook in between the ship's main navigation station and the bulkhead. P3-NY wheeled out cautiously, her bright green photoreceptors taking in the scene of the comatose Mandalorian and the smoking disabled droid.

Resolutely, she pushed down on the swirl of conflicting data streams coming from her various programs. There was no time for inaction now, even as she knew it would have been futile to try and prevent her maker's kidnapping…

She had a job to do.

 **Nar Shaddaa  
** **Sith Compound**

Weiss grimaced as she batted aside another attack from the irritatingly persistent Twi'lek. She'd gotten close several times, but her opponent was as slippery as she was dextrous. It was to the point where she was about to just pop her flamethrower out once again if she could gain a little more separation from the unarmored blonde Corellian behind her…

But then, in the upper left corner of her visor display, a series of messages began to appear.

 _P3-NY = EMERGENCY = SHIP ATTACKED  
_ _JAUNE DESIGNATION FRIEND INJURED  
_ _ZW-31 DESIGNATION BROTHER DISABLED  
_ _RUBY DESIGNATION CREATOR TAKEN_

" _Haar'chak!_ " she snarled. "Everyone, fall back! Disengage!"

" _Vod,_ " Pyrrha interjected, worried at her partner's tone. "What-"

"They took Ruby!"

As one, the group of them broke off their attacks and raced for the front entrance, past broken droids and the fallen soldiers. The mocking laughs of the Sith they left behind chased them on their way to the speeder station where the pair of vehicles they'd rented were parked.

Weiss clenched her teeth as her heart seized up in fear for the diminutive brunette.

 _Hold on,_ cyar'ika _, we're coming..._

* * *

 _Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance):_  
**Yang Xiao Long** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, talented pilot, and droid tinkerer.  
**ZW-31** \- Yang's custom astromech droid.  
**Ruby Rose** \- Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, skilled mechanic, and gun nut.  
**P3-NY** \- Ruby's astromech droid.  
**Lady Salem** \- Rattataki female. Sith Lord and advisor to the Emperor.  
**Lady Cinder Fall** \- Human female. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
**Darth Hazel** \- Sith Pureblood male. Sith Lord Warrior.  
**Darth Tyrian** \- Zabrak male. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
**Emerald Sustrai** \- Twi'lek female. Sith Marauder.  
**Mercury Black** \- Human male. Sith Warrior.  
**Weiss Schnee** \- Echani female from Eshan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Pyrrha Nikos** \- Human female from Alderaan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Jaune Arc** \- Human male from Mandalore. Mandalorian bounty hunter trainee.  
**Hei "Junior" Xiong** \- Human male from Tatooine. Gangster and information broker.  
**Melanie Malachite** \- Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
**Miltia Malachite** \- Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
**Blake Belladonna** \- Half-Cathar female from Cathar. Jedi Master.  
**Lie Ren** \- Mirialan male from Makeb. Jedi Apprentice to Master Belladonna.  
**Master Ozpin** \- Human male from Coruscant. Jedi Master and Council Member.  
**Nora Valkyrie** \- Human female from Ord Mantell. Republic Commando.  
**Neptune Vasilias** \- Devaronian male from Nar Shaddaa. Migrant Merchants' Guild.  
**Sun Wukong** \- Zabrak male from Nar Shaddaa. Grifter, middle-man, thief.  
**Coco Adel** \- Human Female from Coruscant. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Fox Alistair** \- Miraluka Male from Nar Shaddaa. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Velvet Scarlatina** \- Mirialan Female from Nar Shaddaa. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Yatsuhashi Daichi** \- Human Male from Balmorra. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** Well, shavit, that can't be good...
> 
> Stay shiny!


	14. Chapter 14

**Nar Shaddaa  
** _**Myrtenaster** _

The silvery shape of the Mandalorian cruiser  _Myrtenaster_ shook gently as it slowly rose from its landing pad. The precision of its movement belied the tumultuous storm that raged behind the lilac eyes of the starship's pilot.

"Kark that!" Yang snarled, her eyes glued to the instrumentation. "We're lifting now!"

The voice of the traffic controller was unperturbed, bored even, a marked contrast to the Corellian's almost panicky overtones. " _Myrtenaster_ , you do not have clearance at the moment, if you would just-"

With an irritable growl, Yang slapped her hand on the comms, cutting the Nar Shaddaa official off.

Nora chuckled weakly as she gripped Yang's shoulder. "Boring conversation anyway," the orange-haired woman joked quietly.

"Yeah, well… um, how's…?"

"I took him back to the workshop," Nora assured her. "Zwei's lights came on when I plugged him into the aux circuit, he's running internal diagnostics right now. Don't worry about him, okay? He'll be good."

"Okay." Yang nodded rapidly, easing the ship in between the local traffic lanes as she sought out a clear path to orbit. "Where are the others?"

"Here," a harsh voice called out. Metallic clanking heralded the arrival of the pair of Mandalorian women. "Jaune is in the bacta tank…" Weiss stepped up to the blonde's side, swallowing thickly. "He'll be okay soon enough."

"Good," Yang grunted. She spared a glance at the platinum-haired woman, her visage softening as she saw just how raw Weiss was, how tenuously she was holding it together. Pyrrha evidently saw the same as she was standing close by with a concerned look on her face.

"Blake…" Weiss swallowed again. "She says she can track Ruby, that… that she's already gone, left orbit, but… if we can get clear…"

"Right." The pilot twisted the controls deftly, narrowly avoiding trading paint with a garbage scow. "I'll get us out in just a few."

"Thank you, Yang," the alabaster-armored Mandalorian whispered.

Yang nodded curtly, too unsure of her voice to answer. At her side, Nora gave her shoulder another reassuring squeeze.

* * *

Blake inhaled deeply, letting the breath out in a slow, controlled flow. She was sitting cross-legged in the small anteroom that Weiss had set aside for the Jedi passengers, and her apprentice was standing quietly outside the closed door, both to offer assurance and to prevent any disturbance.

Though she seriously doubted Ren would need to enact upon the latter.

The Jedi Master could feel it as they rose above the clouds and then, soon thereafter, broke atmo. Her mind was clear of the clutter of beings that inhabited Nar Shaddaa, allowing her to sink into a trance and stretch her mind outwards. It wasn't terribly difficult to trace the passage of the group of Sith as they made their way off-planet, predictably enough towards Imperial space.

She followed it like a kath hound on the scent of her prey. In this case, however, she was seeking out a very familiar presence, one she'd encountered only very recently but was permanently imprinted upon her soul.

Inhaling sharply, Blake was shocked to have found what she was looking for so quickly. Ruby was a ball of emotions - anger, fear, anxiety, isolation - but at least she was conscious. This would make things far easier.

With a small tendril of the Force, she reached out further through the vastness of hyperspace and touched upon her girlfriend, smiling slightly as she could envision her and the cramped cell the brunette was interred within.

Her smile turned into a puzzled frown as she felt Ruby react to her probing, and then a shocked expression as the brunette actually responded.

" _Blake… please, hurry…_ "

Gathering her focus once more, she sent the diminutive Corellian mechanic what reassurances she could before moving on next to the far more dangerous task. It was a bit of a gamble here, as she wasn't sure which of the Sith were more apt with the Dark Side, but she had a fair idea of the pair she needed.

One of the Sith apprentices she found towards the rear of the Sith cruiser, yet the other on the bridge would have the information she required.

"Got you," she murmured with a smile as her consciousness smoothly merged with that of the Twi'lek girl.

She was in and out in a matter of seconds, just enough to get what she needed. An image of a red sun surrounded by a thick asteroid belt and only a single, rocky world. The Sith's destination was an ancient fortress on said world.

Leaping to her feet once she'd deftly slid back into herself, Blake strode towards the door. Ren was already stepping to the side as the Cathar woman exited, soundlessly taking his place just behind her as she made her rapid way to the bridge.

"I have a destination," she announced calmly once she arrived. Four heads swiveled her way, all looking at her with varying degrees of anxiety.

The Jedi Master stepped over to the navigation station, brow furrowed as she flipped through the astrogation charts.

"What system?" Weiss inquired quickly.

"Almost…" Blake let out a sigh of relief as she found it, pressing a series of keys to send the information to the main computer. "There."

The petite Mandalorian woman spun around back to the pilot. "Yang…?"

"Not a problem," the blonde reassured her. "Laying in a course for… what's the name of this system, anyway?"

Blake walked forward to wrap an arm around the armored waist of her lover.

"Mistral," she whispered as the stars before them stretched out like white lines. With an elongated afterimage, the  _Myrtenaster_  left the system of Hutta.

* * *

With a loud gurgle, the bacta inside the ship medbay's tank rapidly drained through a bottom vent to be recycled and purified as best as possible for future use. Jaune grunted as he jerked the mask off of his head, screwing up his face at the foul aftertaste of the healing solution.

The Mandalorian hawked and spat to the side where a drain was located in the middle of the bay. " _Osik_ , I will never get used to that taste." He groaned and stretched his lean, muscular body, clad only in briefs. Pausing, his blue eyes flickered over towards the other occupant of the medical bay.

"Enjoying yourself,  _cyar'ika?_ " he murmured with wry amusement.

Pyrrha blinked her eyes rapidly before snapping her mouth closed. A bright blush colored her cheeks, but her emerald gaze remained riveted on her lover. " _Elek,_ " she murmured simply.

He gave her a jaunty wink before sobering, slumping into the nearest chair to dry himself off. "So, they took Ruby."

The tall redheaded woman sighed and nodded wordlessly, holding out the soft underarmor typically worn under their  _Beskar'gam_.

"And we're going after her?"

She nodded once more.

" _Kandosii._ " The normally exultant declaration sounded bitter coming from his lips, though his face was hard and full of determination. "I'm going in with you,  _vod._ "

Pyrrha nodded one more time before draping herself across his lap and resting her head on his broad shoulder. " _Troch_. We'll be going all out,  _Weiss'ika_  wants you along."

The blond Mandalorian grinned briefly at the familiar moniker of their  _Ruus'alor_  that he would never be caught dead uttering. Then his face settled back into one of grim resolve as he ran his hand along his lover's back.

"Payback time."

* * *

Yang spat out a bitter curse as she struggled with the burnt, twisted lump of metal currently encased within in her droid. She'd already removed the ruined husk of his blaster pistol.

"Sithspit, will you… kriffing… get…  _out!_ "

With an explosive sigh, she sat back on her haunches and flung the blackened shield generator onto the worktable. "Sorry, buddy, ain't no way I can repair that, either. Gonna need to outfit you with a new one, soon as… soon as…"

She closed her eyes wearily against the stinging, hot tears. ZW-31 warbled softly, bumping up against his master while offering what reassurances he could that the situation wasn't as grim as it seemed.

"I just… Shavit, Zwei, I can't lose her, I can't… I can't lose her too…"

Sobbing uncontrollably at this point, the blonde Corellian woman leaned her forehead against the cool chassis of her droid.

ZW-31 moaned softly as he offered what quiet reassurances he could, feeling unusually helpless in the face of his creator's despair.

* * *

The ship had another hour or so until it was due to emerge from hyperspace. The sole occupant of the bridge let out a soft, worried beep periodically as she remained on station, doing what she could to hurriedly integrate herself fully with the  _Myrtenaster's_  central computer. Hopefully, it would be enough to help in saving her creator.

P3-NY's dome swiveled as a dark figure silently entered the bridge.

"There you are, Penny," Blake murmured with a gentle smile. She settled down on the deck of the bridge next to the tiny droid, her dark grey robes pooling around her as she lay a reassuring hand on the droid's head. "I've been looking for you, little one. How are you?"

The responding beeps were unusually quiet and lacking the typical vibrant personality of the tan astromech. P3-NY gravely informed Blake designation  _friend_  that she was diligently working to improve her relational database access and communication relays with the ship  _Myrtenaster_  designated  _home_  in order to assist with the upcoming rescue attempt.

"That's nice," she replied. "But I didn't ask what you were doing… I asked how you were. How are you feeling?"

P3-NY considered that briefly. She'd never really been asked such a question previously, but it was rather nice for Blake designation  _friend_  to do so. While her processors were incapable of actual organic emotions, her mood, if she were to ascribe a sentient property, could be best described as worried.

"I understand. It's perfectly alright to feel upset, worried, or even scared." The raven-haired Cathar woman rubbed her hand along P3-NY's dome gently. "I will give you this promise, though, and Jedi do not offer such casually. You have my word, brave little Penny, that I will return your master to you."

After but a few milliseconds of consideration, the small droid warbled quietly that Blake designated  _friend_  was now her second-favorite organic, even over ZW-31's master Yang designated  _friend_. And that, subsequently, she felt comfortable entrusting the life of her creator to the Jedi.

However, Weiss designation  _uncertain_  was another matter entirely.

Blake let out a soft laugh at that. "We shall just have to work on that, then, won't we?"

* * *

 _Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance):_  
 **Yang Xiao Long**  - Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, talented pilot, and droid tinkerer.  
 **ZW-31**  - Yang's custom astromech droid.  
 **Ruby Rose**  - Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, skilled mechanic, and gun nut.  
 **P3-NY**  - Ruby's astromech droid.  
 **Lady Salem**  - Rattataki female. Sith Lord and advisor to the Emperor.  
 **Lady Cinder Fall** \- Human female. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Darth Hazel**  - Sith Pureblood male. Sith Lord Warrior.  
 **Darth Tyrian**  - Zabrak male. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Emerald Sustrai** \- Twi'lek female. Sith Marauder.  
 **Mercury Black**  - Human male. Sith Warrior.  
 **Weiss Schnee**  - Echani female from Eshan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Pyrrha Nikos**  - Human female from Alderaan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Jaune Arc**  - Human male from Mandalore. Mandalorian bounty hunter trainee.  
 **Hei "Junior" Xiong**  - Human male from Tatooine. Gangster and information broker.  
 **Melanie Malachite**  - Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
 **Miltia Malachite**  - Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
 **Blake Belladonna**  - Half-Cathar female from Cathar. Jedi Master.  
 **Lie Ren**  - Mirialan male from Makeb. Jedi Apprentice to Master Belladonna.  
 **Master Ozpin**  - Human male from Coruscant. Jedi Master and Council Member.  
 **Nora Valkyrie**  - Human female from Ord Mantell. Republic Commando.  
 **Neptune Vasilias**  - Devaronian male from Nar Shaddaa. Migrant Merchants' Guild.  
 **Sun Wukong**  - Zabrak male from Nar Shaddaa. Grifter, middle-man, thief.  
 **Coco Adel**  - Human Female from Coruscant. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Fox Alistair**  - Miraluka Male from Nar Shaddaa. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Velvet Scarlatina**  - Mirialan Female from Nar Shaddaa. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Yatsuhashi Daichi**  - Human Male from Balmorra. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** Hang in there Ruby, rescue is on the way! Also, apologies for the missed updates… 10-hour workdays really suck the life out of me. Just a short little filler chapter here for now.
> 
> Stay shiny!


	15. Chapter 15

**Unknown Space  
** _**Myrtenaster** _

"Well, this is exciting."

Weiss glanced aside at the blonde Corellian pilot after her seemingly casual comment. Yang's indolent posture at the helm belied what the Echani woman knew to be a raging maelstrom of fear and anger that lurked below the surface. Likely the only reason the volatile pilot hadn't yet erupted was the presence of her orange-haired lover at her side, every so often giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Nora hadn't left Yang's presence but for a handful of minutes since they'd departed Nar Shaddaa, always keeping a concerned gaze on Yang with her bright turquoise eyes.

It was curious to the Mandalorian woman how such a seemingly volatile relationship could prove to be so steadying as if they balanced each other perfectly.

_Well, I would know something about that, now, wouldn't I?_

" _Udesiir, vod, gedet'ye,_ " she murmured out loud before clearing her throat and translating. "Please be calm, Yang. We won't be here for long."

 _Here_ was a point in deep space, somewhere along the border between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire. There were no discernable navigation markers or hyperspace relays, just endless black visible through the viewport and on the scanners, sprinkled with a myriad of pinpricks of light.

She was startled out of her reverie by the blonde's next words.

"You called me  _vod_ ," Yang stated curiously, glancing at the platinum-haired Echani out of the corner of her eye.

"Er,  _elek_ …" Weiss turned and busied herself with the comm station, fiddling with some of the controls. "It's not just you, I do consider all of you  _vode_  now. Certainly more than crew."

"Uh-huh." She could hear the grin in the pilot's voice even without looking. "I think we've been adopted, babe."

"You think so?" Nora answered humorously. "Does that mean we get to call her  _mom_  now?"

"It's not like…" Weiss looked over her armored shoulder at the pair of snickering women, unable to truly hold onto her ire as the thick tension was notably eased. " _Utreekove_ , the lot of you."

"I would call these two several things, perhaps," Pyrrha laughed as she walked onto the bridge. "I do not know if  _fools_  would be one of them." She was closely followed by her blond Mandalorian lover who was now geared up fully in his blue and gold armor, helmet tucked under his arm.

"Oh,  _k'uur_ ," the smaller Mandalorian grumbled irritably.

"Yes, dear."

Jaune stepped forward, setting his  _buy'ce_  on the console before gingerly plopping down into the copilot's seat. "Nothing yet?" he grunted.

Weiss shook her head. " _Nayc._  We're early."

"And you're still not gonna tell us what's goin' on?" Yang interjected acerbically. "Why we're not rescuing my little sister already?"

"All will be well, Yang," another familiar voice spoke up. Blake walked in, coming to a stop near Weiss while her apprentice took up station at the entrance to the bridge. "Have faith."

"Faith in what, the Force?" the blonde quipped.

"No, in Weiss."

The platinum-haired Mandalorian gazed up at her Cathar lover wonderingly. "You say the sweetest things,  _cyar'ika_ ," she murmured.

"Mmm." Blake leaned over and gave her a sweet, slow kiss. "I wouldn't mind a hint or two, though," she murmured against Weiss' lips.

She let out a soft snort as she moved back. "I told you all, we're meeting someone. Hopefully."

"Hopefully?"

Weiss nodded firmly at the blonde pilot's skeptical tone. "I can assure you-"

She broke off at a shrill beeping from the console. With a flicker of premonition, a squat, ungainly-looking spacecruiser exited from hyperspace practically on top of them.

Yang gave a start but visibly restrained herself from slapping on the vessel's shields. "Um… So, are these your friends, then?"

Nodding once more, Weiss' grin grew to be a bit more feral at the sight before them. The bulky cruiser was likely of similar tonnage to her own sleekly elegant craft, but the similarities ended there. It had a trio of wings, two above and one under, each of which ended in a plethora of blaster and ion cannons. Bulky armor plating made it seem like the head of a gigantic Wraid from Tatooine. The D-5 Mantis Patrol Craft was an ugly yet deadly warship, plain and simple, and would easily chew her beloved craft into debris.

And she'd never seen anything quite so beautiful in her life.

Letting out a sigh of relief, she quickly open an audio-only channel to the other ship.

"This is the  _Myrtenaster_.  _Su cuy'gar, ner vode,_  and  _vor entye_  for coming on such short notice."

A familiar voice came back across the speakers. "This is the  _Fortune's Favour_ ," Coco Adel replied archly. " _Ba'gedet'ye, ner vod,_  those pirates were a pushover anyway. They're not going anywhere. So what's the plan?"

Weiss glanced around the room, her grin widening at the pleased looks on the others' faces. "Give us just a moment to assemble around the main holoterminal and we'll explain the situation."

Ten minutes later the crew was settled either in couches or standing attentively as Weiss finished with her summary. The flickering holoimage of Coco regarded her and the others gravely.

"Well," the brunette finally sighed explosively. " _Troch_ , you've had a rough time of it… So the idea, then, is to invade a Sith planet to rescue your  _ad'ika?_ "

Weiss nodded slowly. "I do have a plan. It will require all of us, especially you and your crew,  _vod._ " She glanced down at her datapad. "We'd need your clearance codes to get onto that quadrant since you have active Imperial contracts… From what we were able to dig up, Mistral is currently garrisoned by a full  _akaata_ of  _verde_  plus heavy assault  _beskar'ade_." She glanced around, chagrined at the confused looks Yang and Nora were giving her. "Er,  _ni ceta_. That is, a battalion of troops and heavy assault droids."

"Hmm. Is that all?" Coco's fingers strummed along the belt of power packs slung across her shoulder. "You do realize if this ever gets out, we'll be considered  _aru'e_ within the Sith worlds?"

"I do." The Echani woman swallowed hard. "I know this is a lot to ask…"

Her friend barked out a laugh, waving away her concern. " _Kandosii, ner vod!_  If I can't fight me a  _Jetii_ , maybe we can kill some  _Darjetiie_  while we're there! So what's the actual plan, then?"

Weiss smiled grimly. "Here's what we'll do…"

 **Sith Empire  
** **Mistral**

Ruby stumbled slightly as she was led off of the Sith cruiser and into a cavernous landing bay. There was a bustle of activity as soldiers, droids, and service personnel scrambled about, though everyone gave the small group a wide berth. Her hands were secured before her with heavy binders on her wrists.

_If I didn't know better, I'd think they were bein' cautious of me..._

The petite brunette still couldn't quite figure out why in the galaxy she'd been taken, or what these Sith wanted her for. Nobody had answered her questions when she'd been in contact with any of her captors, though for the most part she'd just been left alone in her cell.

She hoped with all of her might that the brief contact she'd felt with Blake had been enough for them to find her… before it was too late.

Escape was certainly the last thing on her mind at the moment. Setting aside the number of Imperial troops and droids standing guard attentively around the perimeter of the area, her escorts were not the kind of people she wanted to tangle with unarmed and alone, not to mention with her hands secured.

Corellian she may be, but even  _she_  didn't like those odds.

Her gait faltered once more at the none-too gentle prodding from behind with what seemed to be an unlit lightsaber. "Move it, squirt," came the gruff and uncaring voice of the one she'd heard referred to as Mercury.

The massive figure leading their procession, his wide girth blocking the brunette's view of their destination, turned his head slightly, crimson brow furrowed slightly. "Leave her be," he rumbled with a calm voice that nonetheless brokered no disobedience.

Ruby picked up on the very soft snort from behind, but Mercury did indeed stop trying to propel her at a faster pace. Not for the first time, she wondered what sort of Sith this Darth Hazel was, possessing almost a sort of honor. He had her and Jaune, not to mention ZW-31, at his mercy, and could have easily eliminated the others.

And yet, he remained true to his word and merely took her captive, leaving Jaune alive and, hopefully, her sister's droid without any irreparable damage.

 _Not any kinda Sith_ I've _ever heard of…_

At that thought, the diminutive mechanic's gaze flickered between the escorts on either side of her. The Twi'lek girl seemed to exude a certain… malevolence, as if she'd be more than happy to cripple Ruby if she gave her any trouble.

The Zabrak… Darth Tyrian… Well, he simply scared the shavit out of her.

Even now the dark-robed Sith Lord seemed to be mumbling under his breath, giggling every so often at some unheard joke. The Corellian girl could almost see the dark shroud surrounding the deranged Sith, like a miasma that threatened to pull her in and leave her a writhing ball of pain.

She shuddered briefly at the random and perhaps overly dramatic thought. Maybe it was the hallway that they were now traversing, having left the cavernous bay some time ago. All around Ruby was stone of a dark grey that looked black in between the dim light sconces. Their footing was muffled by a thick carpet in a red so dark it reminded her uncomfortably of dried blood. The passageway just felt…  _wrong_  to her somehow.

Their procession came to a halt abruptly when Ruby heard the  _swish_ of a turbolift door opening. She let out a startled  _squawk_  as she almost ran into the back of the Sith Pureblood in front of her. Darth Hazel turned his head again to look down on her, and perhaps it was a trick of the dim lighting but Ruby could have sworn the side of his mouth quirked slightly.

 _Not my fault I'm so small,_  she grumbled internally. The brunette shot an impotent glare forward, though her head only came up to the middle of his back.

"I will take her from here," a husky, sensual voice announced quietly. "Lord Hazel, Lord Tyrian. You have my profound thanks as well as that of our Lady."

The Sith Pureblood inclined his head respectfully before turning and striding back down the hallway without another word. Darth Tyrian stood for a moment longer, his crazed muttering silenced as his golden irises bored into Ruby intently.

She swallowed as he bent over her slightly, sniffing the air before leaning back with a thoughtful hum.

"Well, now," the Zabrak mused with far more sanity than she'd heard from him previously. "This will certainly be interesting."

With that, he whirled around in a swirl of black robes and sauntered off, once more giggling under his breath.

Ruby finally had the chance to look at the newcomer and she was immediately forced to take a step back at the sheer presence of the woman standing before her. The raven-haired human had amber eyes that almost reminded her of Blake, but these were far more intense, far more intimidating. She was certainly beautiful, but in an almost arrogant way, as if this Sith was used to getting whatever and whoever she wanted through force or guile.

And then would most assuredly and nonchalantly discard them once used up.

With a firm nod, the woman turned smoothly, not ruffling her black robes in the least as she glided forward and into the waiting turbolift. "Mercury, Emerald, with me."

"Yes, My Lady Cinder," the Twi'lek replied with an eager undertone. The grey-haired human simply grunted but still moved forward, propelling Ruby with an invisible push of what must have been the Force.

Ruby put her bound hands out in front of her as she stumbled inside, catching herself on the railing lining the interior and preventing a spill onto the floor. She gave Mercury another glare, but this one had as little effect as any she'd inflicted upon her hosts to date.

The turbolift smoothly went into motion, sending them upwards at what must have been a dizzying pace, though the trip lasted but a few seconds. Before she knew it she was in another large room, easily three stories high and brightly lit from the multiple chandeliers and sconces around the perimeter. The walls here were durasteel but lined with drapery and plexiglass windows looking out across a barren, hostile landscape poorly illuminated by the distant white star.

The red carpeted floor rose gradually up to meet a series of steps midway, continuing towards a large raised platform where an ornate chair sat. There were several doors around the room, none of which looked to be easily accessible.

And then there was the Rattataki woman.

Ruby had never seen one of the reclusive warrior race before, but the tales of their harsh homeworld were things best told around campfires and in hushed tones. This woman had the typical bald pate and bone-white skin, clearly visible as the hood of her robe was pulled back as soon as the brunette entered the room. Glowing red eyes observed their entrance as a slow smile crept across the Sith Lord's dark-veined face, offering the Corellian mechanic no reassurance whatsoever.

"Well, hello, Ruby Rose," the woman greeted her with a surprisingly melodic voice. "My name is Lady Salem. Welcome to my home."

The small brunette cleared her throat and gave what she hoped to be a more-or-less respectful nod as she didn't really want to start antagonizing her host just yet. "Um, thanks?" She immediately winced at her squeaky tone.

Salem gestured with one slender hand, and Cinder took Ruby by the arm, leading her forward and towards the steps. The brunette had to squint slightly to keep her footing as she still hadn't adjusted to the brilliant illumination.

"So, uh, why is it so bright in here?"

Cinder paused, looking down at the captive incredulously.

"Well, I mean… you guys are Sith, aren't you supposed to have dark and moody lighting?" Ruby gave a guileless shrug. "Just wondering."

She quickly regretted her impudence as the Sith's grip on her elbow tightened painfully while behind her a growling began, seemingly from the Twi'lek girl.

 _What happened to being_ not _irritating?_  she chastised herself.

Lady Salem, however, laughed lightly, causing the grip to loosen once more.

"Oh, I like your spirit, little one," the Rattataki woman chuckled. "Would you prefer it a bit dimmer?"

"Yes, please," the brunette replied meekly. "Um, it's kinda giving me a headache."

With a flick of Salem's fingers, the bright lights reduced by half, eliciting a sigh of relief from the petite Corellian.

"Better?"

"Yes, much, thank you."

Cinder pulled her forward once more until they were at the top landing and standing before the Sith Lord, who regarded Ruby with a small smile still tugging at her mouth.

"You will not need those anymore."

Ruby gave a surprised start as the magcuffs slipped from her wrists.  _Handy trick, that..._

"However…"

The brunette's silver eyes shot up at the new tone that laced her host's words, causing her heart to drop into her boots.

Salem's smile had now turned into a dark smirk. "I do apologize for this."

With another flick of her hand, the Dark Lord sent Ruby flying sideways into a wall. The mechanic let out another  _squawk_  of surprise as her wrists and ankles were now bound to the wall by some sort of durasteel restraints, suspending her several feet above the ground.

"Now then, my little friend," Salem purred, gliding forward and with a new, eager light in her crimson eyes. "Let me tell you about a certain prophecy that you will find very, very interesting…"

Ruby could only whimper in fear as Cinder joined the other woman, a matching anticipatory smirk on her dangerously beautiful face.

* * *

 _Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance):_  
**Yang Xiao Long**  - Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, talented pilot, and droid tinkerer.  
**ZW-31**  - Yang's custom astromech droid.  
**Ruby Rose**  - Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, skilled mechanic, and gun nut.  
**P3-NY**  - Ruby's astromech droid.  
**Lady Salem**  - Rattataki female. Sith Lord and advisor to the Emperor.  
**Lady Cinder Fall** \- Human female. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
**Darth Hazel**  - Sith Pureblood male. Sith Lord Warrior.\  
**Darth Tyrian**  - Zabrak male. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
**Emerald Sustrai** \- Twi'lek female. Sith Marauder.  
**Mercury Black**  - Human male. Sith Warrior.  
**Weiss Schnee**  - Echani female from Eshan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Pyrrha Nikos**  - Human female from Alderaan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Jaune Arc**  - Human male from Mandalore. Mandalorian bounty hunter trainee.  
**Hei "Junior" Xiong**  - Human male from Tatooine. Gangster and information broker.  
**Melanie Malachite**  - Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
**Miltia Malachite**  - Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
**Blake Belladonna**  - Half-Cathar female from Cathar. Jedi Master.  
**Lie Ren**  - Mirialan male from Makeb. Jedi Apprentice to Master Belladonna.  
**Master Ozpin**  - Human male from Coruscant. Jedi Master and Council Member.  
**Nora Valkyrie**  - Human female from Ord Mantell. Republic Commando.  
**Neptune Vasilias**  - Devaronian male from Nar Shaddaa. Migrant Merchants' Guild.  
**Sun Wukong**  - Zabrak male from Nar Shaddaa. Grifter, middle-man, thief.  
**Coco Adel**  - Human Female from Coruscant. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Fox Alistair**  - Miraluka Male from Nar Shaddaa. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Velvet Scarlatina**  - Mirialan Female from Nar Shaddaa. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Yatsuhashi Daichi**  - Human Male from Balmorra. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** Ugh, I am so very sorry with how long it took to update this story. Life has been rather interesting lately, full of changes and stress, but I'm trying to get back into writing mode. Expect updates to come a bit slower than before, unfortunately.
> 
> So, then. Are we prepared for all-out action? Buckle up, 'cause the next chapters will be quite a ride...
> 
> Stay shiny!


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** Below chapter best listened to with _Caffeine_ running in a loop in the background.

**Mistral, Imperial Space  
** **Sith Fortress**

On a normal day, the cavernous main hanger bay of the ancient Sith bastion was a bustle of activity. Lately, though, with their Dark Lady present, things had picked up to an almost frenzied pace as the garrison of sentients and droids scurried about to ensure everything was well-supplied and in order.

In a large control room set high into the side of the bay, men and women in the uniforms of the Imperial support corps worked at a feverish rate to keep things running smoothly. Their harried faces were illuminated by the green glow of their monitors. A quiet babble of voices filtered throughout as troops and mechanical servants were directed smoothly and efficiently.

Until that is, one rather worried-sounding voice carried over the din.

"Freighter  _Ugnaught's Whiskers_ , your profile does not register in my system," one male stated firmly with the distinctive accent common to those raised in Imperial space. "Hold at your station for further instructions, do you copy?"

With an irritated huff, the tech sat up straighter and motioned a supervisor over. The woman, wearing the dark livery of the Imperial Navy, strode over with a frown, her tone clipped and precise. "What is the problem here, then?"

"I'm sorry to bother you, ma'am, but this supply freighter is coming in ahead of schedule…" He gestured behind him towards his terminal. "Something just isn't right."

"I don't see what…" The Imperial officer's eyes widened as she noted the display behind the tech. "Full alert!" she barked out suddenly. "Outer defenses, fire at will!"

The man whirled around in his seat to note with horror that the seemingly lumbering freighter's profile had now indeed changed, and was closing in towards them at a rather dangerous rate. In fact, they were already inside the defensive perimeter…

The room shook as muted explosions could be heard, causing every one of the personnel in the room to cease their chatter and stare out through the viewport set into the wall overlooking the docking bay itself. Debris rained down from where the pair of autoturrets had been mounted above the docking bay's open portal, as well as from the shield generator that kept the area secure. A squat, ungainly-looking vessel was braking hard in a flare of thrusters as it sailed in.

And then a single missile spat out from under the blunt nose of the spacecruiser, headed directly for the control room.

"Oh, no," the tech breathed, before everything ended in a flash of white light and noise.

Below, the  _Fortune's Favour_  pivoted around, scattering objects and the enemy with billowing thrusters before presenting its back end. With a heavy  _crump_ , the Mandalorian armored vessel settled down onto the deck.

The entire docking bay froze as if holding its breath, the only sound the hissing of cooling metal and the only motion the flickering red lights above.

And then the rear deck dropped to the floor with a resounding  _clang_ , revealing a tan-armored figure with black and gold highlights who was easily cradling an oversized rotary blaster cannon.

"Come get some,  _aruetiie!_ " the figure called out cheerfully, its distorted voice amplified to ring out across the bay as the cannon began to spin menacingly.

At that, all bedlam broke loose.

Armed and armored figures surged forward, along with several security droids. All were met with copious amounts of lethal firepower, the Mandalorian cutting them down like the wheat fields of Ord Mantell.

"This is far too easy,  _vode_ ," Coco grumbled over the shared comm channel. "I thought we were going to be faced with a challenge?"

A blaster bolt whined by her helmet and towards a figure who had been setting up a heavy weapon tripod. " _Udesiir, Ruus'alor,_ " Velvet chuckled from where she crouched, long sniper rifle tracking more troops pouring into the bay. "We'll have plenty of  _aru'ela_  to play with, I believe."

"If you leave us any," Fox grumbled, striding down from the hatch with Yatsuhashi at his side. "You remember the bet, now?"

" _Elek_ ," Coco sighed good-naturedly. It had taken several hard-fought rounds of sabacc for the Mandalorian team to decide who got the first honors today. "First  _Darjetii_  is yours."

The orange and black armored Miralukan grinned tightly behind his  _buy'ce_. " _Kandosii!_ "

Yatsuhashi walked forward, keeping outside of Coco's field of fire but offering his bulky armored form as a target nonetheless. Several shots glanced off of his thick  _beskar'gam_  as he unhurriedly brought his blaster rifle to shoulder and began picking off targets of his own. "I believe you will get your wish soon," he commented mildly.

Sure enough, behind the latest wave of troops and droids could be seen glowing bars of crimson light. Fox chuckled, bumping his fists together before extending the twin vibroblades from his forearms and hefting them upright.

As their brother-in-arms made his way forward, the fire from the other Mandalorians picked up. Coco concentrated on a group of assault droids, growling with displeasure as a number of blaster bolts made their way to scorch her armor.

"I just got this cleaned!" she snarled, finger tightening on the trigger.

Fox waded in through the troopers, spinning and slashing out with abandon. He ignored their terrified shrieks and pained yells as he left a trail of dismembered and eviscerated bodies behind, his senses straining to catch the approaching Sith. The enhanced sensor suite embedded in his helmet eventually flickered to show in his mind's eye a crimson figure arcing in high to come down on his position with a devastating attack.

The Mandalorian warrior reacted quickly, rolling backwards out of the way and popping back to his feet immediately with both vambraces held upright to catch the twin lightsabers. This close, he could make out the twin  _lekku_  on either side of his opponent's head, marking them as a Twi'lek.

"You have made a very grave error coming here," the figure, a woman by her voice, snarled as she whipped her dual lightsabers around. "And you'll never leave here alive."

Fox laughed merrily as he ducked his head down, taking one blade on his  _buyce_  while the other was deflected by a vibroblade. His other arm darted forward, but the nimble opponent skipped back from the stabbing attack. "I've been told that before," he retorted over his external speaker.

The armored man spun, slashing out with both blades while sweeping his foot out as well. The Sith easily leapt over his attacks, catching the side of his head in a kick that stumbled him slightly. "And this will be the last," she returned darkly.

The was little time for banter after that as each of them immersed themselves into the deadly duel. Fox had to, on occasion, dodge an outside influence as a soldier or droid would join in, but they were soon enough picked apart by his team, still supporting from the ship's ramp, at least until their fight took them further away from the bulk of the conflict and into the stacks of supplies.

It wasn't long, however, before the Miralukan started to worry that, perhaps, this one time he might have bitten off a little bit more of the womp-rat than he could handle.

The Sith woman with her lightsabers had more reach than he did, was a bit more maneuverable, and had plenty of tricks up her sleeve. More than once he was blindsided by a chunk of debris of droid part that was flung at him through the Force, not to mention the small but annoying zaps of electricity that would sometimes course down her arms and through her weapons. Fortunately, those seemed to happen rarely enough it seemed as if it were a skill she was still learning. But her other assets certainly made up for that.

As for Fox, he had his reliable  _beskar'gam_  to protect him, and it gave him an edge in staying power, but her strikes were steadily wearing him down. Not to mention all he'd been able to inflict were shallow gashes that the Twi'lek seemed to shrug off.

If anything, the wounds only made her angrier and more fierce.

He charged in, blades swept out to the side, but once again the elusive Sith danced out of range, leaving new scorch marks against his flank. This time, though, as he turned she had both blades raised upright. With a shout, she brought them down, and a wave of dark energy slammed into him, throwing him into a stack of plasteel crates and knocking him almost senseless.

Fox staggered unsteadily to his feet, only to be slammed into once again. This time, he let out a grunt of pain as his enemy's lightsabers found a weak spot in the side of his armor and caused a breach. The Miralukan hissed as he felt the aftermath of the burns, searing into his nerve endings and clouding his vision.

Before he could even regain his footing this time, the Twi'lek sent a Force-assisted kick into the side of his head, sending him sprawling.

Emerald circled the prone form, laughing triumphantly.

"Mandalorians aren't so tough after all," she gloated in delight, hefting one of her sabers overhead for the killing strike.

But then she was flying sideways, tackled by a giant form in pale green armor with brown highlights. She was flung onto her back, the breath knocked out of her.

"Perhaps," Yatsuhashi commented levelly. "But we do have numbers."

One large gauntleted fist reared back and smashed into her face, sending her sprawling back once again as she tried to rise. As he went to follow-up, though, a dark flash of energy flared outwards, sending him flying to crash into another set of munitions boxes, stunning the giant warrior.

"Enough!" she screamed as she staggered to her feet, azure-colored blood flowing down past her lips from her ruined nose. "I will kill you all! I'll eviscerate you, I'll-"

Her enraged rant cut off in a wet gurgle. She swayed in place, crimson eyes widened in surprise at the tips of the twin vibroblades that extended from her ribcage just under her breasts. With a low moan, she slid to the floor and crumpled into a lifeless heap, deactivated lightsabers dropped at her sides.

Fox staggered unsteadily over towards his downed teammate, flicking the blood off of his blades. "I coulda taken her," he stated, words slurred slightly.

"No doubt," Yatsuhashi agreed, accepting the helping hand up. His grip on Fox's forearm remained firm even as they were both upright once more. " _Vode an._ "

The Miralukan snorted softly. " _Vode an_. Still my kill, though." He crouched, picking up both sabers. One he clipped to his belt as a trophy, while the other he readily offered to his  _vod_.

"Of course,  _vod_. And a  _kandosii_  one, at that." The bulky Mandalorian accepted the lightsaber with a nod, recognizing the prize for what it was, wordless gratitude between two warriors who had saved each other's hide uncountable times.

"Are you two  _utreekove_ done sitting on your  _shebs?_ " Coco's irritable voice broke in across their comms. "Or would you like to rejoin the party?"

"Come," Yatsuhashi chuckled. "Our fearless leader awaits."

"She's just grumpy she lost the last hand of sabacc," Fox returned as they stepped over Emerald's corpse and made their way through the wreckage towards the fighting once more.

"True." The green-armored man pulled his blaster rifle off of his back and checked the power pack levels. "She thinks you cheat."

"She always thinks I cheat."

"Well, to be fair, you do."

"To be fair, nobody's ever caught me."

"One of these days,  _vod_ ," Yatsuhashi laughed quietly, shouldering his rifle as they rounded the corner. "One of these days, you will get yourself in deep  _osik_."

"Perhaps." The wide grin was obvious in Fox's voice. "But then I'll have you watching my back as always,  _vod_."

The pair had to sidestep an assault droid that staggered into their path, broken parts trailing behind before it clattered to the ground.

Without another word, the pair of Mandalorians surged forward into the ongoing battle.

* * *

 _Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance):_  
**Yang Xiao Long**  - Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, talented pilot, and droid tinkerer.  
**ZW-31**  - Yang's custom astromech droid.  
**Ruby Rose**  - Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, skilled mechanic, and gun nut.  
**P3-NY**  - Ruby's astromech droid.  
**Lady Salem**  - Rattataki female. Sith Lord and advisor to the Emperor.  
**Lady Cinder Fall** \- Human female. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
**Darth Hazel**  - Sith Pureblood male. Sith Lord Warrior.  
**Darth Tyrian**  - Zabrak male. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
**Emerald Sustrai** \- Twi'lek female. Sith Marauder.  
**Mercury Black**  - Human male. Sith Warrior.  
**Weiss Schnee**  - Echani female from Eshan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Pyrrha Nikos**  - Human female from Alderaan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Jaune Arc**  - Human male from Mandalore. Mandalorian bounty hunter trainee.  
**Hei "Junior" Xiong**  - Human male from Tatooine. Gangster and information broker.  
**Melanie Malachite**  - Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
**Miltia Malachite**  - Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
**Blake Belladonna**  - Half-Cathar female from Cathar. Jedi Master.  
**Lie Ren**  - Mirialan male from Makeb. Jedi Apprentice to Master Belladonna.  
**Master Ozpin**  - Human male from Coruscant. Jedi Master and Council Member.  
**Nora Valkyrie**  - Human female from Ord Mantell. Republic Commando.  
**Neptune Vasilias**  - Devaronian male from Nar Shaddaa. Migrant Merchants' Guild.  
**Sun Wukong**  - Zabrak male from Nar Shaddaa. Grifter, middle-man, thief.  
**Coco Adel**  - Human Female from Coruscant. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Fox Alistair**  - Miraluka Male from Nar Shaddaa. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Velvet Scarlatina**  - Mirialan Female from Nar Shaddaa. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Yatsuhashi Daichi**  - Human Male from Balmorra. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** So, been nice knowing you, Emerald. I didn't get into much of Team CFVY here, but they'll have more time in the next story. Also, yeah, it's a bit of a short chapter, but I didn't want to draw it out overmuch. And it let me push it out that much faster.
> 
> Stay shiny!


	17. Chapter 17

**Mistral, Imperial Space  
** **Sith Fortress**

The fortress was on high alert. An entire battalion of Imperial troops and heavy assault droids was in motion, surging towards the invaders threatening from the central hanger bay. They traveled along the corridors that lined the ancient bastion, some of these passageways newly constructed, others of timeworn stone and marble.

Along one such conduit, a squad of Imperial Marines trotted forward, backed up by a pair of assault droids. They were several levels up from the main floor and heading for the cargo elevators when the leading sergeant held a warning hand up.

The veteran troops quickly halted their progress and spread out, blaster rifles unlimbered and at the ready. All could easily ascertain the scattered remains of a pair of security droids at the next junction and the charred walls that indicated a recent battle.

The sergeant gestured the droids attached to his squad forward while he reported the situation via his helmet comlink that was tied into the local network. "Control, this is squad twenty-eight, Ninth Marines. Come in."

There was a hiss of static before a harried voice finally came across. "This is Aux Control Three, wait one."

"Are they serious right now?" a corporal spoke up incredulously. "We're all on alert here and they bloody well told us to wait one?"

"Suff it, Corporal," the non-commissioned officer growled. "Keep an eye out for-"

He broke off as the assault droids, having reached the intersection, abruptly disintegrated under a withering barrage of fire.

"Shavit!" the sergeant barked out. "Squad, deploy! Control, come in Control, we're-"

Several silvery cylinders rebounded off of the far wall, skittering towards the soldiers before exploding. Hardened blast armor cracked and gave way to the force of the thermal detonators, sending many of the Imperial Marines to their fiery and agonizing deaths.

The sergeant, flung to the ground by the blasts, ripped his damaged helmet off while coughing from the acrid smoke that filled the corridor. His gaze traveled up to view a figure striding through the haze, wearing white armor with incongruous pink highlights and cradling a massive autocannon.

"Oh, no," he breathed, futilely scrabbling for his rifle.

The smoke-filled hallway was bathed in crimson light as the blaster cannon opened up, searing away what was left of the veteran troopers.

Another armored figure, this one in blue and gold armor and carrying a blaster rifle, chuckled mirthlessly as he surveyed the scene from behind the first one. " _Haar'chak_ , Nora, you going to leave any for the rest of us?"

The Republic trooper giggled, slinging her cannon back over her shoulder and pulling her grenade launcher around. "You want a piece of the action, gotta keep up with me, Jaune."

"Yeah, I think we're okay with you two taking the lead still," another voice called out from the direction they had come. A blonde mane of hair poked around the corner, followed by wide lilac eyes. "Sithspit, remind me never to piss you off, okay, babe?"

As Yang edged cautiously forward, she was followed by a rail-thin Mirialan male in dark green robes. Ren kept his lightsabers in his hands but left them unlit, probing out with both physical senses and the force to detect further threats. "There is another group moving up," the Jedi apprentice warned quietly. "Smaller, but still in the direction we need to move."

"Whelp, let's go give 'em a nice warm greeting!" Nora replied cheerfully, striding forward while checking the ammo count reading for her microgrenades. "Ohhh, nice, let's try incendiary next…"

"Nora,  _nayc_ , let's not start a fire in the fortress where we're staging a rescue,  _gedet'ye?_ " Jaune implored while sighting down the barrel of his rifle.

"Oh, fine, you're no fun at all…"

Just then a clatter of boots heralded the next group of soldiers. So far the small incursion force had been lucky enough to face only disorganized opposition, the majority of the response directed towards the Mandalorians in the central hanger. Coco and her team were admirably fulfilling their job as a distractionary force, but it couldn't last forever.

The first few soldiers who turned the corner didn't even have time to react before Jaune took them apart. Rapid blaster shots, precise and deadly, brought them down quickly. Several ranks back, the Imperial troopers finally reacted and tried for some semblance of cohesion, but they were subsequently thrown back into disarray by the concussive blast of Nora's high-explosive grenade.

Yang ducked as a billowing cloud of dust and debris sailed overhead. "Um, maybe it's just me," she murmured anxiously. "But I think bringin' the fortress down on our heads is kinda just as bad as settin' it on fire, yeah?"

Nora snorted softly, the electronic filtering from her helmet making it into a harsh buzz. "Everyone's a kriffing critic today…"

"Love ya, babe!"

At that, the trooper giggled once again, her humor restored. "Aww, love you too, blondie!"

"You two have the most interesting relationship," Ren observed quietly.

"Yeah, maybe," Yang conceded. "But we make it work."

More booted feet sounded, echoing from the walls. "Ren?" the Mandalorian in front called out tersely.

"In front and behind," the Jedi calmly returned.

"Right…  _Shab_ , the last group must have gotten a call off." Jaune turned his head to regard the pair bringing up the rear. "We keep moving forward,  _lek?_ "

"Don't you worry about us," Yang replied with a tight grin. "We can keep up."

And then the corridor erupted into pandemonium.

Ranks of disciplined troops poured around corners from all sides, filling the hallway with multicolored beams of cohesive light. Ren ignited his blades, swinging them around with a smooth precision that prevented any of the fire reaching his comrades from the rear.

Yang crouched by the Jedi's side, heavy blaster out and responding to the attack. Her lips were peeled back in a snarl as she rapidly fired her weapon. In the back of her head, she was quietly panicking at the delays, hoping against hope that they would still be able to make it to her little sister in time.

_Hold on, Ruby, we're coming…_

Up front, Jaune and Nora presented an armored bastion against the incoming fire. Hits scored dark streaks across their paint jobs, but they remained steadfast as they took apart the opposition. Jaune grunted as one bolt impacted directly against his chest, but he shrugged it off and continued to answer the barrage with his own fire. At his side, the shorter figure cradled her assault cannon,  _Magnhild_ , once again and rained death upon their foes.

Eventually, the fire from ahead started to ease. "Move!" Jaune barked out.

As one, the armored pair started forward, one sure step at a time. Ren and Yang began easing back as well, keeping close together as best as they could.

From behind, two assault droids stepped over the fallen corpses of the garrison soldiers, heavy autocannons spitting out deadly fire. Yang gave a yelp as she ducked down, and even Ren let out a worried grunt as he increased his efforts to deflect the attacks.

The blonde Corellian dropped to the floor on her stomach, letting her blaster pistol land next to her as she reached behind her back to withdraw another pair of silvery orbs. She flung them forward, grinning widely as the EMP grenades wreaked havoc with the targeting and fire systems of the droids. Quickly picking her sidearm back up and returning to a firing position, Yang managed to pick them apart before they could recover.

And then the group of four paused, an eerie silence filling the hallway.

"We get them all?" Yang called out hesitantly.

Ren nodded slowly as he lowered his emerald-green lightsabers. "I believe so, for now, at least."

" _Elek_ , then let's pick up the pace," Jaune answered, sighting down his rifle again and moving forward steadily. The other three strode along, stepping over the remains of their opposition, pieces of bodies and droids littering the floor.

They got perhaps another thirty meters down the hallway when the Mandalorian held up a gauntleted hand. "Wait… Ren, what's that ahead?"

Yang narrowed her eyes as she peered over the armored shoulder of the blond man. The lights ahead seemed to fade away into some sort of darkness like it was somehow absorbed by a tiny black hole. "Ohhh, that does  _not_  look good," she murmured.

"Indeed." Ren walked past the group with calm determination, his hands out to his sides and grasping his unlit lightsabers. "Please remain back."

The Jedi came to a stop about ten meters ahead. His right foot drew back as both of his lightsabers ignited. His  _shoto_ , the shorter-bladed one, was in his left hand in a reverse grip, while the longer blade was held in a high guard. And there he waited, still as a statue.

After a few tense moments, movement finally appeared in the darkness. It coalesced into the grinning visage of a raven-haired Zabrak Sith Lord, the inky shadows pulling into him and forming his swirling robes that writhed like a living thing.

Wordlessly, the Sith pulled a long-handled lightsaber from the blackness and ignited it, crimson blades extending to either side.

The two regarded each other steadily, Jedi and Sith, before abruptly launching into combat.

Yang sucked a breath in as she observed the speed at which the pair dueled. Her blaster pistol was held at the ready, but she wasn't sure if she could manage to hit the right target with the way they were flying around.

Even her inexperienced eye could tell, however, that Ren was rather badly outmatched.

The Mirialan whirled about with a dexterity inherent to Force-users, but he was being hard-pressed to keep the deadly red blades at bay. A few times he attempted a kick out at the Sith Lord's midsection or knee, but his opponent would already be in motion, causing the Jedi to hurriedly return to the defensive once more.

"Jaune," the blonde Corellian murmured anxiously.

" _Elek_ , I see it," he responded, his electronically-filtered voice quiet and tense. The blue-and-gold armored man had his rifle by the barrel in his left hand while his right was filled with a blaster pistol, tracking the Zabrak's erratic movements. "Waiting for a shot."

Just as he finished the sentence, his finger tightened on the trigger, sending a pair of bolts out towards the Sith. Both missed, but only barely, and had the unfortunate side-effect of gaining the attention of the powerful Dark Lord.

With a spinning flourish, Darth Tyrian kicked off of Ren, staggering him, and then whirled in towards the other intruders. With an almost negligible flick of a blade, the blaster pistol was sheared off, narrowly missing the softer underarmor of his fingers, before he darted back to re-engage the Jedi apprentice once more.

"Shavit!" Yang snarled as Jaune quickly shook his hand out, allowing the mangled remains of his sidearm to fall to the floor. "That vaping Hutt-spawn is toying with us!"

" _Troch_ , that was pretty much telling us to stay out of it for now," Jaune grumbled, hefting his rifle and sighting along the barrel. " _Shab_  that."

Evidently, the Sith realized his warning would not be heeded, or perhaps he merely tired of the game. In any case, within another heartbeat, Ren let out an anguished shout. His deactivated  _shoto_  dropped to the floor... along with his hand.

The Mirialan fell back against the wall, shutting off his other lightsaber as he painfully cradled the stump of his left forearm against his chest.

With a manic grin, the Zabrak turned towards the remaining three intruders.

He didn't make it a single step before he was under assault by a furious barrage. Nora let out an enraged shout as she pummeled the Sith Lord with intense fire from  _Magnhild_ , joined by the blaster rifle fire from Jaune. Most of the shots, though, were ably deflected by the spinning red blades.

Yang paused before joining in, her eyes narrowed. With a flash of insight, she aimed down low, at the concrete beneath Tyrian's feet. Sure enough, the shifting footing caused the Dark Lord to stumble slightly.

Rather than give them an advantage, however, it only seemed to irritate the Sith. With a resounding howl, a wave of dark energy blasted outwards, sending the group to the floor. The blonde's blaster pistol went skittering across the ground as she lay there on her back, gasping for breath.

With the protection of their armor, both Nora and Jaune managed to recover quicker. The pink-hued trooper was the first to stagger to her feet to meet the Dark Lord who was cackling maniacally as he advanced. She received a saber strike to her helmet for her troubles, causing her to collapse once again, unable to see through the ruined viewport.

Yang lifted her head up, but any concern for her lover was overridden by her own predicament. Tyrian was steadily approaching towards her, giggling as he dragged one of the tips of his dual-bladed lightsaber against the floor.

She let out a panicked  _squawk_  as she tried to scramble backward, but then another armored form interposed between herself and certain doom.

Growling, Jaune took several hits to his  _beskar_  vambraces before bodily tackling the Dark Lord. He tried to head-butt the Zabrak but the deranged Sith tucked his head in first, causing his helmet to rebound off of the tough horns atop Tyrian's head.

"Fall back!" Jaune yelled desperately as he grappled with his opponent. But before Yang could make any move at all, the Mandalorian warrior was flung away with a crackling burst of dark lightning, ending up writhing and twitching on the ground several meters away from the blonde.

Yang glanced desperately between the fallen Mando and the still-recovering Trooper, knowing it was up to her now.

One solitary, unarmed Corellian.

"Whelp," she sighed, turning to stare the approaching Sith Lord in the eyes. "Been a good run, I s'pose." She clenched her cybernetic fist and readied herself to launch upward, futile an effort as it may be. But there was no kriffing way she was going down without a fight.

Tyrian had only taken another step forward, his face full of malicious glee, before a spinning bar of emerald light sailed past and through the space where his neck previously was. The Zabrak's head hit the floor with a muffled  _whump_  before the robed body followed to collapse into a boneless pile.

The lightsaber was called back into Ren's hand as he gave a pained grunt, his green skin pale and sweaty. Once his weapon was deactivated, he sagged to the floor again, eyes closed wearily.

"Oh," Yang breathed, at a momentary loss from how to deal with the revocation of her death sentence. Her head slumped back to rest against the floor and she stared up at the broken lights on the ceiling, blinking slowly.

Then her vision was filled with a round face and turquoise eyes, framed by a sweat-matted bob of orange hair. "You alright there, blondie?"

"Yeah, fine…" she murmured. "Um, go see to the others, okay? I'll just be a sec."

It took her a bit longer than that to finally get moving. Nora and Yang worked together to get the wounded members of their team sitting upright against the wall and next to one another.

Jaune was recovering steadily, though his legs didn't seem to want to function just yet. His helmet lay at his side, its circuitry fried to a crisp, while he cradled his recovered blaster rifle.

"You two go on," he ordered curtly, grimacing slightly from the lingering pain. "I'll keep watch over Ren and hold the exit here,  _lek?_ "

With a heavy sigh, Nora left her ruined helmet next to the Mandalorian and then stood upright, hefting her arsenal of weaponry. "Don't go playing the hero, now, alright?"

Jaune chuckled wearily. "There's no word for that in  _Mando'a_. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"You sure about that?" Yang probed, crouched down in front of the pair.

" _Troch_ , I can handle this  _aaray_ , er, pain. Not going anywhere."

"Yang."

The blonde looked over curiously to her Mirialan friend who seemed to be barely clinging to consciousness. "Yeah, Ren, what can I get for you?"

The Jedi shook his head slowly, instead extending his hand out. Resting in the palm was his longer-length lightsaber.

"Take… this. You'll know… who needs it… at the proper time…"

"Oookaaay," Yang drawled uncertainly, carefully picking up the weapon. She looked the handle over briefly, noting the simplicity of its design, incongruent with how deadly it was in the hands of the right person. "Um, can't give me any more to work with than that?"

Ren merely shook his head again before closing his eyes once more, sagging back wearily.

The blonde received a reassuring pat on the shoulder as she stood back up. "It's a Jedi thing, you get used to it," Nora smirked.

With wordless nods, Yang and Nora turned and began to stride off down the hallway. They paused when Jaune called out once more.

"Hey," he rasped out. " _K'oyacyi, vode._ "

The two women shared a tight grin, recalling past language lessons with their Mandalorian friends. In  _Mando'a_  the phrase  _k'oyacyi_  had several meanings, such as a simple "cheers". The literal translation, though, was to come back alive.

"You too,  _vod_ ," Yang replied steadily. " _K'oyacyi_."

At that they took off, trotting down the path they knew should bring them to the central tower.

"So," Nora panted lightly, jingling with every step. "Sounds like they're making regular Mandalorians out of us after all, huh?"

"Eh, could be worse things," Yang chuckled, her blaster pistol held in a ready stance in her left hand. Her artificial right was clasped around the lightsaber where it was secured to her belt. She was a bit fearful of losing it, not just because it belonged to her Jedi friend but also because of the importance he'd placed on her getting it to their destination.  _Kriffing Jedi and their bein' all mysterious all the time..._

The pair came to an abrupt halt at a fork in the passageway. They looked at each other, perplexed.

"Do you remember if this was supposed to be here?" Nora inquired mildly.

"Nope. You?"

"Nope."

"I was afraid of that."

"Well, shavit. What now?"

The blonde let out a sigh, closing her eyes briefly before regarding her lover with solemn eyes. "We gotta split up."

Nora grimaced but nodded in acceptance. "Alright, well… You'd better karking stay alive, you hear me, blondie?"

"I hear ya, babe," Yang chuckled. She ignored the burn in her eyes as she closed in for a brief but intense kiss. "Love you," she whispered as she pulled back.

"Love you, too," Nora replied just as quietly, her turquoise eyes shimmering.

Without another word, the pair turned and sprinted off in opposite directions, each sending a desperate plea for the Force to look out for each other.

* * *

 _Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance):_  
**Yang Xiao Long**  - Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, talented pilot, and droid tinkerer.  
**ZW-31**  - Yang's custom astromech droid.  
**Ruby Rose**  - Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, skilled mechanic, and gun nut.  
**P3-NY**  - Ruby's astromech droid.  
**Lady Salem**  - Rattataki female. Sith Lord and advisor to the Emperor.  
**Lady Cinder Fall** \- Human female. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
**Darth Hazel**  - Sith Pureblood male. Sith Lord Warrior.  
**Darth Tyrian**  - Zabrak male. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
**Emerald Sustrai** \- Twi'lek female. Sith Marauder.  
**Mercury Black**  - Human male. Sith Warrior.  
**Weiss Schnee**  - Echani female from Eshan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Pyrrha Nikos**  - Human female from Alderaan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Jaune Arc**  - Human male from Mandalore. Mandalorian bounty hunter trainee.  
**Hei "Junior" Xiong**  - Human male from Tatooine. Gangster and information broker.  
**Melanie Malachite**  - Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
**Miltia Malachite**  - Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
**Blake Belladonna**  - Half-Cathar female from Cathar. Jedi Master.  
**Lie Ren**  - Mirialan male from Makeb. Jedi Apprentice to Master Belladonna.  
**Master Ozpin**  - Human male from Coruscant. Jedi Master and Council Member.  
**Nora Valkyrie**  - Human female from Ord Mantell. Republic Commando.  
**Neptune Vasilias**  - Devaronian male from Nar Shaddaa. Migrant Merchants' Guild.  
**Sun Wukong**  - Zabrak male from Nar Shaddaa. Grifter, middle-man, thief.  
**Coco Adel**  - Human Female from Coruscant. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Fox Alistair**  - Miraluka Male from Nar Shaddaa. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Velvet Scarlatina**  - Mirialan Female from Nar Shaddaa. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
**Yatsuhashi Daichi**  - Human Male from Balmorra. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** I am so, so very sorry it has taken me this long to update. The past couple of months have been rather… complicated. Endings and beginnings, all the while I've been trying to keep myself together mentally and emotionally. I'm working on getting back into the swing of things, back into writing mode so I can concentrate on this story and finish it out strong. Be patient, please, we'll get there. I have the next chapter done and under review, should be up the following week.
> 
> Anyway. So, this being a Star Wars story, of course, there has to be dismemberment. What, you though Yang's counted? Hang tight, as the action continues next chapter!
> 
> Stay shiny!


	18. Chapter 18

**Mistral, Imperial Space  
** **Sith Fortress**

"This seem too easy to either of you?"

Weiss let out a huff at the question from her partner. It mirrored her own thoughts from the past few minutes. " _Elek_ ," she returned shortly, monitoring the scrolling information of the HUD inside her helmet.

"The others have faced some opposition," Blake murmured from behind the Echani warrior. Pyrrha brought up the rear of their small procession, as usual watching their backs.

"And… are they well, still?" Weiss inquired. Inwardly, she cursed the lack of communications. It would seem that the dense walls of the fortress prevented much in the way of open wireless technology, as evidenced by the frequent data ports and terminals they'd passed.

If they weren't in such a hurry, she might have actually tried to break into one, but that wasn't really one of her skillsets. She'd left the resourceful little droid of Ruby's behind to do what she could, but for now, they had to rely on the intangible senses of their Jedi.

"Well enough," her Cathar lover replied softly. "At least, Ren doesn't seem worried."

" _Nu draar_ ," Pyrrha chuckled. "Does Ren ever actually worry?"

"It could happen," Blake answered drily. "Er… what was that phrase? I think I've heard it before,  _nu draar_ …"

"Oh,  _lek,_  it means 'no way', in essence."

"Ah, I see. Um,  _vor'e_."

" _Ba'gedet'ye, vod_."

Weiss let out an amused snort. "Even as we invade an  _aru'ela_  fortress, we find the time for  _Mando'a_  lessons…"

Giggling lightly, the three cautiously continued down the deserted corridor. They paused at each intersection before moving forward once again.

Weiss' original plan called for two teams from the  _Myrtenaster_  to infiltrate the upper level of the fortress proper. They would stealthily dock in an auxiliary bay before approaching the center of the fortress from opposite sides. The hanger they'd utilized was a tight fit, used primarily for shuttles or one-person skiffs, but fortunately, it was empty of any other craft. In the middle of the large stone bastion was a tower that loomed over the landscape, and if the Echani knew anything about the Sith megalomaniac mentality, that's where they'd find those responsible for their current situation.

And, hopefully, her Ruby.

She grimaced slightly at the thought, both that the bubbly brunette wasn't hers alone, but also that any one individual had managed to worm their way into her heart so quickly and thoroughly that she'd pull out all the stops, put her entire crew at risk and even call in favors from another Mando team, all to rescue the Corellian mechanic.

And she wasn't alone, her silver-eyed lover. Another had lodged herself right in alongside in Weiss' heart, the exotic half-Cathar Jedi who was currently at her back and risking the same dangers as she was.

"We'll find her, love," Blake murmured reassuringly.

" _Haar'chak,_ " she grumbled under her breath before turning her head to reply in a louder tone. "I know it,  _cyar'ika_." It figured that she couldn't even fret quietly about things without her girlfriend overhearing, so to speak.

The trio came across a set of double doors on the right-hand side. They were cracked open, but neither sound nor light came from within.

"Wait one moment…" Weiss murmured, her brow furrowed as she perused the schematics her helmet computer had been assembling with their progress so far. "I think…  _Elek_ , we should be able to move through this chamber and then the tower structure should be just on the other side."

Nodding, Pyrrha stepped forward to take up position outside of the doorway, her carbine held aloft and at the ready. Weiss slid in smoothly to the other side, but then glanced curiously at the grey-robed Jedi who had her head tilted consideringly.

"Blake?" she inquired softly.

The Jedi Master stirred then and gave the pair a tight smile. "We're expected," she breathed before striding confidently forward, pushing both doors inward on noiseless hinges.

Sure enough, standing in the middle of what seemed to be a large, circular meeting hall with rows of benched seats lining the sides was a hulking figure in black robes, a menacing shadow to block their path.

Blake came to a halt halfway between the dark form and the doorway and pulled the hood of her grey robe back. "Darth Hazel, I presume?" she called out politely in her husky, melodic voice.

"You presume correctly," the bass rumble returned.

Weiss and Pyrrha flanked the Jedi, weapons out but just at the ready as he hadn't made any overtly threatening gestures as of yet. The Echani woman was on a hair's trigger, though, anxious to move past him and towards where Ruby might be waiting.

The Cathar woman tilted her head once again. "Do you mean to impede our progress?"

With slow, deliberate movements, the figure pulled his own hood back, revealing the angular red-skinned features of a Sith Pureblood. "My… instructions allow me for some amount of leeway," he finally stated quietly. "I have been looking forward to testing myself against such an extraordinary Jedi as yourself, from the reports I've heard." His hand shifted then, revealing a dark gleam of armor under the robes and a single-bladed lightsaber at his belt.

"And my companions?"

"If it would be guaranteed that they will not interfere… I will allow them to pass." His face contorted into a brief sneer. "I would take the word of a Mandalorian over a Jedi, however."

Blake calmly shrugged, not at all phased by the insult, and turned her head to regard Weiss inquisitively.

"Are you sure?" the Echani woman whispered to her lover, a cold feeling of dread forming a lump in the pit of her stomach.

The Cathar nodded slightly. Even in the dim lighting, the platinum-haired woman could detect an eager gleam in the other's eyes.

Weiss nodded as well before turning to the Sith. " _Troch,_  then, we shall pass without interfering. My honor as a Mandalorian." Pyrrha nodded as well to indicate her own acceptance, though she uttered not a word.

"Very well," Darth Hazel returned levelly. "The one you seek is up a number of levels in the tower behind me, and she is indeed in danger." He frowned briefly. "This is… a dishonorable affair, but I will not aid you further."

"Mmm." Blake smiled slightly. "And we appreciate your honorable actions so far."

He merely grunted in reply, glowing red orbs focused on the Jedi while her companions lowered their weapons to point at the floor.

"You be careful, understand,  _cyar'ika?_ " Weiss implored softly. " _Ret'urcye mhi_ , my love. I'll meet you when you're done here."

"And you be careful as well," Blake answered just as softly. "The both of you. I'll be fine."

Pyrrha snorted humorously. "You kick his  _shebs_ , now,  _Jetii_."

"That is the plan," the Cathar smirked.

Weiss was torn, wanting nothing more than to rip her helmet off and press a hard, passionate kiss onto her lover's lips. The regret nagging at her that she'd not said goodbye properly to Ruby before she'd been taken was at the forefront once more, and all propriety seemed insignificant in the face of losing another one of her  _cyare'se_ , her loved ones, who'd so effortlessly captured her heart.

Sensing her distress, Blake gave her a wink and a wide smile. "I know, Weiss," she whispered. "I love you too. Now get going, both of you, and rescue our  _ad'ika_."

The Mandalorian warrior nodded again, smiling weakly behind her helmet. " _Kar'taylir ni, cyar'ika. K'oyacyi._ "

With that she turned and strode past the Sith Lord, unable to remain there any longer, and pushed open the doors at the opposite end of the amphitheatre.

"Erm…" Blake's furred ears flickered inquisitively as she glanced at Pyrrha who sighed quietly in response.

"She said… that she holds you in her heart… and to return to her safely."

"Oh. Well, then…" The Jedi gave her a warm smile. " _K'oyacyi_ , Pyrrha _._ "

" _K'oyacyi, ner vod_."

With a jingle of armor, Pyrrha took off at a trot to catch up with her partner, leaving the pair of Force-users to regard each other steadily.

"You did not need to tell us of the danger," Blake mentioned curiously, fingering the lightsaber at her belt but not activating it yet. "You are rather unlike most Sith I've faced… Why would you forewarn us?"

"My reasons are my own. I did not reveal anything of the danger ahead you did not already know." He chuckled, then, the sound like rocks grinding together. "Though you are in a good deal of danger yourself, here."

Blake quirked an eyebrow. "And you should be more concerned with your own predicament."

"True enough," the Sith Pureblood nodded agreeably. "Shall we?"

"Indeed."

With that, the both of them pulled their lightsabers free and ignited them. The dim room was illuminated by the searing bars of crimson and amethyst.

Without any further preamble, the pair of combatants surged forward to engage in a furious duel.

Blake had already taken her measure of the man before her and knew not to underestimate him. This was perhaps an even more deadly opponent then the Zabrak had been, though in a different way. Darth Hazel was physically tough, strong, and quick, not to mention quite adept with his blade.

A small part of her was altogether inappropriately eager to clash with another Blademaster. Inappropriate, at least, were she a proper Jedi.

But, of course, as she was quick to remind others, that wasn't something she'd ever been accused of.

And so she gave in to the fight, fully relishing in the battle of equals even as a small part of her worried for the safety of Ruby.  _That's not up to me, now, I have to rely on the others._

The Cathar's lips were peeled back as she dodged and whirled, relying on her superior agility to evade injury. For his part, Hazel was content to allow a strike or two to impact against his armor if it were to allow him an advantage.

She batted his blade aside, whirling around to kick at his knee, but he was quick to drop his stance to take the Force-assisted strike on his armored hip instead. And then the counter-strike went over her head with a deadly  _thrum_ , Blake barely ducking out of the way in time. She twisted adroitly, engaging in a series of thrusts and slashes that managed to at least score a surface wound across the back of his thigh. Unfortunately, she received a superficial wound of her own to her left side in the process.

The pair of warriors disengaged momentarily, pulling back to catch their breaths. Blake winced at the shallow but raw burn, pulling from the Force to shunt the pain aside. For his part, Darth Hazel only looked to be minorly winded. After but a few seconds, they surged together once more.

This time, the Sith went on the offensive. He growled as he battered at the Cathar woman with overhanded pummels, trying to overwhelm the smaller woman. But she twisted out of the way, leaping up and over his head to swipe at his rear. He reacted far quicker than she'd hoped, spinning around and landing a kick into her midsection which caused her to sail backwards.

She caught herself before falling to the floor, performing an acrobatic flip and ending up sliding back into a classic three-point stance, one hand braced on the floor while the other held her lightsaber out to the side.

Despite herself, she had to grin slightly with how much she was enjoying this fight.

Darting forward once again, Blake began a sequence of strikes which would hopefully end up with the Sith out of position and open to a thrust at the weak point of his armor under his arm. Jab high, block counter, slash towards the middle, take the expected counter there and spin with it, thrusting upwards to-

_Searing pain, agony, a fire consuming the left hand like nothing ever experienced before…_

With a sharp gasp, Blake faltered, her strike glancing off of the shoulder pauldron of the black armor. She barely managed to stumble back as the red blade whisked by, but she still took a painful wound to her left arm.

_Ren…_

Shaking off the torment she could feel flowing down from the bond she shared with her padawan, Blake snarled with renewed vigor. Her left arm was now slightly slowed, the burn across her bicep making her usually sure movements off-kilter.

But she'd not let that stop her.

A Force-assisted leap took her back into the fray, deftly avoiding another kick and ducking under the lightsaber slash. She spun in mid-air, impacting against his chest armor hard enough to stagger the Sith Pureblood. With a backflip, she ended up in a defensive stance to meet his expected onslaught.

Darth Hazel threw himself forward, batting at her once again with the brute strength often utilized by Sith Warriors. Unfortunately for her, he was able to back it up with both dexterity and a precision that marked him as one of the deadliest fighters in the Sith Empire. The Jedi Master was barely able to keep ahead of the attack but managed to avoid being backed up into the stands ringing the amphitheatre. Instead, she kicked off the lowest row of benches and sailed overhead once more, this time throwing her saber at her opponent while still in mid-air.

Hazel grunted in pain as the purple blade made contact with his right elbow before Blake landed, calling her lightsaber back to her hand again. She paused, eyes narrowed as she felt the man gather the dark energies of the Force, left hand pulled back as if to throw a punch.

Recognizing what was about to happen, she quickly gathered her own will and drew upon the Living Force to aid her.

Simultaneously, Jedi and Sith loosed a deadly wave of energy at each other. The concussive blast was enough to shred through the bleachers and send both combatants staggering backwards. As dust and detritus rained down from the shattered ceiling far overhead, Hazel reacted, leaping up in a Force-assisted jump with a roar.

However, Blake was no longer at the spot where he landed.

She spun in from out of the dim haze, amethyst blade illuminating the area like a neon light in the fog. Hazel got his blade up to deflect the attack, but this time her follow-through proved true, piercing under his armor and searing into the muscle of his right arm.

He let out another pained grunt, tossing his saber up to be captured by his left hand. Blake was caught off-guard as she flipped back, receiving a shallow gash on her right leg as she did so. She still managed to end up on her feet, barely, and crouched there for the span of a heartbeat. Amber eyes calmly regarded her opponent before darting in one final time.

With his wounds, as well as using his off-hand, Hazel was unable to match the deadly Jedi woman any longer. By that point, the outcome was a foregone conclusion. Several impacts later, none of which were overly fatal, and the massive Sith finally slumped to his knees on the floor, breathing heavily. Blake wasted little time in delivering a swift spin-kick to the side of his head, finally dropping him.

"Inelegant," she panted, deactivating her lightsaber and crouching down with her hands on her knees and head hung low. "But I'll take it."

With a pained groan, Blake reached behind her back to the belt pouch there and withdrew her emergency bacta patches. She carefully applied them to the burns across her leg, torso, and arm, sighing in relief as the pain receded. The one on her side, in particular, was oozing enough blood past the raw, cauterized gash to be of concern.

She reached out in the Force towards her padawan, finding him close to losing consciousness. Blake sensed the reaction from Ren, a soft reassurance that he'd live before she felt him slip away.

"Right, then," the raven-haired Jedi murmured, standing back up and stretching with a groan. She glanced aside at the prone form on the ground. "Now, what to do with you…"

While part of her was reluctant to leave an enemy, no matter how honorable, alive and unrestrained at her back, the majority of her was filled with an unrelenting need to move forward. She could feel that time was running out, Ruby needed her  _now_ , as did the others. She couldn't take the time to deal with the defeated Sith, nor could she bring herself to end his life so callously. He'd been a worthy opponent, after all, and far more noble than any of his like that she'd interacted with to date.

Briefly, she wondered if this feeling, the overwhelming desire to keep her lover safe, was what the Jedi always warned about. Feelings and connections, causing her to prioritize Ruby's safety over dealing with the situation at hand.

"Very well, Darth Hazel," she sighed, moving towards the door that Weiss and Pyrrha had disappeared through earlier. "I suppose we'll meet again someday."

As she left, an inkling through the Living Force told her that such a statement was a surety.

And as she raced along the corridor, she also reflected that there was little chance she could live with herself anyway if she were ever to sacrifice any one person, even if it wasn't someone she loved, for the so-called 'greater good'.

The room she'd left was silent and still for the span of a good five minutes before the dark-robed figure stirred weakly. Hazel rolled onto his side with a groan, trying to rise but then falling back again with a pained grunt. A name left his lips in a breathy rumble as he felt consciousness slip away once more.

"Ilia…"

* * *

Weiss and Pyrrha raced together side by side. If it weren't for so much being on the line this time, the Echani woman might have seen it as a familiar situation. The two Mandalorians had been paired together as partners, voluntarily, ever since they had met.

She knew she could depend on her redheaded  _vod_  just as sure as she could her  _Beskar'gam_.

"Getting close," Weiss panted out. She again was more than a little irked that she could not communicate with Jaune over their helmet comms, but at least she was able to coordinate with her partner.

" _Elek_ , be nice if they had some signs somewhere."

"Well, we wouldn't want things to be too easy, now, would we?"

Pyrrha chuckled breathlessly. "Remind you of Geonosis any?"

"We don't talk about Geonosis," Weiss growled.

"Well,  _you_  may not, but I still find the retelling humorous."

"It is not my fault we got lost in those warrens!"

"Of course not. You were merely the one with the map."

"I… But…" Weiss sputtered incoherently, even as she was momentarily thankful for the distraction. " _K'uur_ , you!"

"Yes, dear," the other Mandalorian giggled.

They turned the next corner only to be confronted with a blank stone wall. There were no other doors nearby, the closest being perhaps twenty meters back.

" _Haar'chak!_ " Weiss cried out in dismay. "How are we supposed to get to the  _shabla_  top?"

Just then the cursor on her HUD began to blink rapidly before her screen was filled with a message.

P3-NY = WORKING... COMMUNICATIONS ESTABLISHED, PLEASE STAND BY…

"Knew I liked that little droid," Pyrrha chuckled, evidently having received the same missive.

"Penny, are you inside the comm network now?" Weiss inquired hurriedly. "Can you reach the others?"

JAUNE DESIGNATION FRIEND UNRESPONSIVE… NORA DESIGNATION FRIEND UNRESPONSIVE… NO OTHER COMMUNICATORS AVAILABLE

"Alright, er… thank you, then…" Weiss turned and began to trot the way they'd come from. "Do you have a path forward for us?"

AFFIRMATIVE… LEFT AT SIXTEEN POINT EIGHT METERS AHEAD

" _Kandosii!_ " her redheaded partner cheered quietly as the pair picked up their pace once again.

**Sith Fortress  
** **Throne Room**

Ruby hung from the restraints on the wall, panting lightly. So far her hosts had been content with merely regaling her with what was to come, which was concerning enough, in her opinion, up until just a moment ago. That was when her Sith Lord captors decided it was time to… 'prepare' her for the ritual.

Unfortunately, said preparations involved liberal applications of dark lightning to weaken her.

She didn't like it one bit, not that anyone was asking or even cared overmuch.

Through her matted bangs, drenched with sweat and tears, she could see the other pair of Sith lurking just behind the Rattataki woman. Both Cinder and Mercury were looking on with a decided air of gloating about them.

_Yeah, laugh it up… not like I can do anything about-_

Her musings were interrupted by another blast of electricity from Salem's hands, causing her to writhe helplessly in her restraints. An agonized shriek was torn from her throat that cut off as soon as the assault did.

"Hmm… not quite done yet, I think," Lady Salem mused. "But we don't want you completely disabled…"

The pale-skinned woman began to pace once again, her bald pate shining in the light and making the crisscrossing black veins there even more prominent. "So close, so close... " the Sith murmured.

"Don't need to… hurry… on my… account…" Ruby gasped.

Salem chuckled, pausing to give the brunette a condescending pat on her sweaty cheek. "Oh, you are an amusing one."

"Yep… that's me… hilarious…"

"Pity I can't keep you around longer as a pet," the Sith Lord stated with another dry chuckle. "However, I'm not entirely sure of the condition in which this ritual will leave you. The instructions were rather… vague in that regard."

"There was only so much room on the stone tablet," Cinder added blandly.

"And such an endeavour to obtain them," Salem continued. "Do you have any idea how difficult it was to locate the proper museum in the ruins of Taris?"

"Hah," the petite Corellian laughed, almost a pained cough. "I feel for ya."

"Indeed. Well, shall we continue, then?"

Just as Salem raised her hands again, her victim wincing as she braced for the renewal of pain, a ringing shout intruded upon the scene.

"Get the  _shab_  away from my sister!"

Ruby sagged in her restraints once more, partially in relief but mostly fear as she heard the voice of her older sibling. Hot tears sprang to her eyes anew as she saw the blonde enter the room, alone and with her blaster pistol raised threateningly.

"No," she whispered desperately. "Yang… no, please… run..."

* * *

 _Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance):_  
 **Yang Xiao Long**  - Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, talented pilot, and droid tinkerer.  
 **ZW-31**  - Yang's custom astromech droid.  
 **Ruby Rose**  - Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, skilled mechanic, and gun nut.  
 **P3-NY**  - Ruby's astromech droid.  
 **Lady Salem**  - Rattataki female. Sith Lord and advisor to the Emperor.  
 **Lady Cinder Fall** \- Human female. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Darth Hazel**  - Sith Pureblood male. Sith Lord Warrior.  
 **Darth Tyrian**  - Zabrak male. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Emerald Sustrai** \- Twi'lek female. Sith Marauder.  
 **Mercury Black**  - Human male. Sith Warrior.  
 **Weiss Schnee**  - Echani female from Eshan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Pyrrha Nikos**  - Human female from Alderaan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Jaune Arc**  - Human male from Mandalore. Mandalorian bounty hunter trainee.  
 **Hei "Junior" Xiong**  - Human male from Tatooine. Gangster and information broker.  
 **Melanie Malachite**  - Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
 **Miltia Malachite**  - Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
 **Blake Belladonna**  - Half-Cathar female from Cathar. Jedi Master.  
 **Lie Ren**  - Mirialan male from Makeb. Jedi Apprentice to Master Belladonna.  
 **Master Ozpin**  - Human male from Coruscant. Jedi Master and Council Member.  
 **Nora Valkyrie**  - Human female from Ord Mantell. Republic Commando.  
 **Neptune Vasilias**  - Devaronian male from Nar Shaddaa. Migrant Merchants' Guild.  
 **Sun Wukong**  - Zabrak male from Nar Shaddaa. Grifter, middle-man, thief.  
 **Coco Adel**  - Human Female from Coruscant. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Fox Alistair**  - Miraluka Male from Nar Shaddaa. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Velvet Scarlatina**  - Mirialan Female from Nar Shaddaa. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Yatsuhashi Daichi**  - Human Male from Balmorra. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** I have so been looking forward to doing this lightsaber fight. Hope I managed to pull it off adequately. And here comes Yang, riding to the rescue… er, against a trio of Sith… I'm sure this will go just fine, no worries at all...
> 
> Stay shiny!


	19. Chapter 19

**Sith Fortress  
** **Throne Room**

Yang knew she had a bit of a temper. Well, perhaps more than a bit. And every so often, despite her considerable level-headedness against most adversity, she'd been accused of jumping into the Sarlacc pit before looking.

Those who knew the blonde Corellian, though, understood that it was a matter of her triggers. There were some things so sacrosanct to her, so inviolable, that she would move the stars themselves to protect them.

And at the very top of the list was her little sister.

In retrospect, however, charging out into the bad guy's lair at the top of the enemy's fortress, occupied by no less than three Sith, with naught but her blaster pistol, charm, and good looks was one of the more foolhardy things she'd ever done.

"Whelp," Yang muttered under her breath as she pointed her blaster at the pale-skinned Rattataki Sith Lord who she assumed would be the head bad guy. "I'm here now, nothing to do but make the best of it…"

"Well, well, well," her target mused, regarding the blonde as if she were examining a particularly intriguing insect. "What have we here…"

"I remember this one, Masters," one of them spoke up, the young grey-haired Human she recalled from the assault on Nar Shaddaa. "Tricky, but not a threat."

"Aww, now that's just bein' hurtful," Yang smirked. "Take me dancing and I'll show you a threat."

Her lilac gaze flickered over towards where Ruby hung limply from durasteel restraints against the wall. She tamped down on her rising temper, unwilling to charge in further lest she endanger her sister any more than she might already have.

_Or, maybe I just need to distract them long enough for the others to find their way here…_

With that, she switched targets, leveling her heavy blaster at the bored-looking Sith male. "You think you can take me, kid?"

" _Kid?_ " he snorted incredulously. A new expression crossed his face, one a mixture of curiosity and anticipation. He turned towards the third member facing the Corellian pilot and gave the Sith woman a semi-respectful nod. "Lady Cinder, do you mind if I indulge myself?"

"Not at all, feel free, Mercury," the raven-haired woman purred. "Entertain our uninvited guest."

_Well, shavit, here goes nothing…_

Without further warning, Yang opened fire on the younger Sith as he turned to face her. Two of the bolts impacted against dark chest armor before his lightsaber ignited with a  _snap-hiss_ , deflecting the others. As the blonde moved back from the advancing warrior, she felt her sidearm be unexpectedly ripped from her grip by an unseen force.

Mercury smirked widely as he examined the blaster pistol now in his possession before his hand closed into a fist, crushing the weapon into plasteel detritus.

"Hey!" she squawked angrily. "I liked that gun!"

Chuckling, the dark-robed Sith advanced on her further. "And what will you do now, little smuggler trash? Try to punch me?"

She was tempted, honestly, but knew she'd receive a blade through her stomach for her troubles if she did so. Yang was panicking a bit, running through what was left of her tricks… grenades were all spent, she'd somehow lost her vibroblade in the scuffle with the Zabrak without her noticing, and that only left…

With a gulp, the Corellian woman pulled out Ren's lightsaber. She fumbled with it for a second or two while her opponent looked on incredulously before she found the proper button to press.

And quickly realized she was holding it upside-down.

Fortunately, there was no loss of limbs on her part, but she was blushing furiously in embarrassment as she carefully righted it and set herself into a two-handed stance as she'd seen Blake do before.

"Okay, then," Yang stated, her voice carrying far less confidence than she would have liked. "Let's do this."

* * *

At the top of the audience chamber, Salem had given up on her attempts to tenderize the diminutive Corellian, much to Ruby's relief. Instead, she was referring to a handheld with her brow furrowed. Cinder, meanwhile, was watching the one-sided battle below with great amusement.

"Would you believe that blonde oaf actually brought a lightsaber?" the raven-haired girl murmured. "She'll likely lop off her own arm within the first few seconds."

Ruby strained to see around her captors, eventually obtaining a glimpse of her sister. She was, indeed, holding a blade with a very familiar emerald green hue, which made her heart sink.  _What happened to Ren, is he okay? And what is Yang trying to do? She'll get herself killed! Or, yeah, lose an arm! ...Again..._

Her hands clenched and unclenched uselessly, bound above her head. Panic began to bubble up inside of her as she realized there was nothing she could do to prevent her sister's death right in her sight.

Nor could she help the hot tears that ran down her cheeks from her utterly helpless situation.

* * *

Yang clutched at the unfamiliar weapon with a determined grip. She shifted in a wide semicircle around the Sith warrior, trying to ignore his amused smirk.

"Do you even know what you're doing?" he taunted, swishing his blade back and forth with exaggerated movement as if daring her to dart in for a strike. "You could just give up now, you know. Be less painful for you."

"Not gonna happen," she gritted out in response. "I came for my sister, and I'm not leaving without her."

"Oh, you poor, deluded girl," Mercury chuckled. "You really think you're leaving here? That's so cute."

The blonde risked a quick glance over the Sith's black-robed shoulder. They seemed to be taking their time up there with whatever was going on. Was Ruby to be sacrificed for some sick and twisted dark ritual? Were they experimenting on her for something? She had to get up there and get her sister out of those restraints before anything bad happened. But Mercury was doing an admirable job of keeping himself interposed between her and her objective.

She stamped down on her rising anger, instead pulling from deep inside of her to reach that place of calm and tranquility that'd been so difficult to grasp ever since first Summer then Tai had left them.

 _I can't let my temper get the better of me, that's what he wants…_  She sighed softly, adjusting her grip as she prepared to try and do what she came here to do. Rescue her little sister.

_I don't know if the Force is a living thing or not, or just some kinda hocus-pocus… But if you are really what Blake and Ren and all those Jedi say you are… Please, please help me, anything, something… I can't let my sister die, not like this, not with me this close…_

Her eyes burned but she couldn't take the time to swipe at them. She felt more helpless than ever before in her life, even more so than when she lay at the bottom of the crevice with her right arm trapped beneath those rocks…

But she was vaped if she was going to give up.

One slow foot in front of the other, she began to approach the amusedly waiting Sith.

* * *

Ruby was chewing on her bottom lip so hard that she was close to drawing blood. Besides the fact that Lady Salem seemed to be ready to begin her ritual, she was terrified for her sister. The blonde was gamely wading forward, giving a few pokes and thrusts that were easily deflected. Clearly, Mercury was toying with her, not even attempting to attack but just idly batting away the green lightsaber blade.

"Very well, then," Salem murmured. She took a deep breath and on exhale, she stared at Ruby with an intensity that left her breathless.

But then the Dark Lord broke eye contact, looking over her shoulder with some irritation. "Get on with it, boy. I can sense more fools approaching, finish her and then go deal with the other intruders."

Once her gaze was freed, though, Ruby glanced at Lady Cinder curiously. The raven-haired Sith, previously looking on with rather malicious glee, was now staring off into space sightlessly and with a frown on her beautiful face.

Straining, the brunette Corellian could just barely pick up on a whisper from the other woman.

"I sense a presence… One I haven't felt in many years…"

* * *

"I still owe you," the grey-haired Sith sneered, once more batting away a feeble attempt to reach him with the green lightsaber. "For that broken nose on Nar Shaddaa." He paused, stepping back to regard the blonde levelly. "Perhaps I'll take my time with you after you're disabled," he mused. "One limb at a time…"

Yang let out a low growl. She knew up to this point she'd been lucky, shavit, far luckier than she should have been to manage to delay for this long. And if the pale-skinned Sith woman up top was right, her friends were on the way.

Unfortunately, Mercury seemed to be taking his orders to heart. With a dark smirk, he flourished his lightsaber before darting in to attack.

The blonde yelped, getting her saber up just in time to deflect the assault. And then the next. And once again. She didn't think, just reacted. Slowly, ever so slowly, her movements were becoming more smooth and surer. Confidence was returning to the Corellian woman accompanied by a tingle that began in her chest and ran down through her arms to her fingertips, even the artificial ones.

The burning in her eyes was unrelenting, but she wasn't about to question it or anything else she was feeling at that moment as her desperate defense managed to scarcely parry all of the Sith warrior's strikes.

She leaned into the fight, allowing her arms to move on their own, giving in fully. She blocked high and low, feet shifting ever so slightly but able to meet her opponent with every attack made. And then, gradually, she was able to go on the offensive, causing the grey-haired man to widen his eyes even more in shock.

In was enough that, when she managed to get him out of position, she quickly released her two-handed grip and finally punched him, hard, in the face with a right hook.

Mercury stumbled back, clutching at his bleeding mouth and snarling incoherently. She merely smiled back serenely, not at all sure what was going on with her but at this point in time, she'd embrace it for all she was worth if it meant she could save Ruby.

* * *

Salem was muttering to herself, the dark undertones clearly expressing her frustration. "It definitely said the initial phrase would evoke a reaction…" she growled, pacing back and forth while staring hard at her datapad again. "Did I mistranslate? No, of course not, I checked several times…"

"My Lady?" Cinder interjected worriedly. "What is wrong?"

"This!" the Rattataki woman exclaimed furiously, throwing her handheld to the side where it landed on the large cushioned chair in the middle of the dais. "It's not working! Something isn't right, I cannot find the source of power within this little whelp!"

Said whelp was still hanging in the same position as before, but with her head held down in relief. She wasn't sure why it had happened, but she welcomed this reprieve from her execution happily.

"I just don't understand it, the instructions were so clear… the prophecy... as... well…"

Ruby perked up as she caught the end of Salem's rant when it trailed off incredulously. Both Sith women were staring agape at the scene at the bottom of the chamber. As her head twisted around to see what was happening, the brunette couldn't help but let her own mouth drop open in surprise.

Yang was moving with the kind of grace and fluidity that the younger sibling had come to associate with her Jedi lover, ably combating the young Sith warrior. Green clashed with red in rapid strikes, the blonde pressing her opponent hard.

But was most remarkable of all… were her eyes.

A silvery shine was leaking from Yang's normally lilac orbs, like wisps of mist.

"No," Salem breathed incredulously before she drew herself upright. "No! It's her, that oaf is the one who has the power within her!"

Cinder wasted little time in darting forward, drawing forth a dual-bladed lightsaber and igniting it to reveal glowing blades of an angry orange-red color. Before Ruby could shout out a warning, Salem thrust her hands forward, dark energy crackling forth towards the blonde Corellian.

But then a dark blur interposed itself between the attacks. The lightning was caught on an amethyst lightsaber, stopping Cinder's charge as well.

Straightening slowly, the Cathar Jedi Master dropped her smoldering dark grey cloak to the floor. She leveled her blade with a feral grin, pointing it straight at the raven-haired Sith woman's head.

"I don't think so," Blake murmured over the sudden silence that followed her entrance.

Cinder recoiled from the newcomer with a snarl. "Blake Belladonna…"

Nodding, Blake changed her stance into a high guard with her left hand extended, wiggling her fingers at her opponent mockingly.

"Hello again, Cinder. Let's dance."

* * *

 _Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance):_  
 **Yang Xiao Long**  - Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, talented pilot, and droid tinkerer.  
 **ZW-31**  - Yang's custom astromech droid.  
 **Ruby Rose**  - Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, skilled mechanic, and gun nut.  
 **P3-NY**  - Ruby's astromech droid.  
 **Lady Salem**  - Rattataki female. Sith Lord and advisor to the Emperor.  
 **Lady Cinder Fall** \- Human female. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Darth Hazel**  - Sith Pureblood male. Sith Lord Warrior.  
 **Darth Tyrian**  - Zabrak male. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Emerald Sustrai** \- Twi'lek female. Sith Marauder.  
 **Mercury Black**  - Human male. Sith Warrior.  
 **Weiss Schnee**  - Echani female from Eshan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Pyrrha Nikos**  - Human female from Alderaan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Jaune Arc**  - Human male from Mandalore. Mandalorian bounty hunter trainee.  
 **Hei "Junior" Xiong**  - Human male from Tatooine. Gangster and information broker.  
 **Melanie Malachite**  - Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
 **Miltia Malachite**  - Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
 **Blake Belladonna**  - Half-Cathar female from Cathar. Jedi Master.  
 **Lie Ren**  - Mirialan male from Makeb. Jedi Apprentice to Master Belladonna.  
 **Master Ozpin**  - Human male from Coruscant. Jedi Master and Council Member.  
 **Nora Valkyrie**  - Human female from Ord Mantell. Republic Commando.  
 **Neptune Vasilias**  - Devaronian male from Nar Shaddaa. Migrant Merchants' Guild.  
 **Sun Wukong**  - Zabrak male from Nar Shaddaa. Grifter, middle-man, thief.  
 **Coco Adel**  - Human Female from Coruscant. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Fox Alistair**  - Miraluka Male from Nar Shaddaa. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Velvet Scarlatina**  - Mirialan Female from Nar Shaddaa. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Yatsuhashi Daichi**  - Human Male from Balmorra. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** Another shorter one. I think I might have actually pulled off a twist that nobody had seen coming. Yes, Yang is the one from the prophecy. How is this possible, you may ask? And how do Blake and Cinder know each other? Does Blake have a secret Jedi power of making an awesomely cool entrance? Is Ruby just going to hang around on that wall for the next three chapters or what? Sit tight, all will be revealed before the end...
> 
> Stay shiny!


	20. Chapter 20

**Sith Fortress  
** **Central Tower**

Weiss grunted irritably as they scaled the final flight of steps, blowing a drop of sweat off of her nose. Her armor's internal cooling system had been struggling vainly to keep up with her physical exertion, but there was no way she was about to remove her  _buy'ce_  inside  _aru'ela_  territory.

In typical Mandalorian fashion, she sucked it up and pushed on.

Panting over their audio circuit at her side, Pyrrha hefted her carbine before skidding to a stop next to the door at the top of the stairwell. The crimson-armored woman nodded wordlessly, whether because words were unnecessary for an action they had taken innumerable times or if she were too out of breath to do so was up for debate. Weiss nodded back, kicking the door open and rolling inside, blaster pistol held at the ready.

The semicircular corridor was empty. They were on one end of it and the hallway stretched out before them in ominous silence.

Pyrrha eased out from where she had leaned around the corner, blaster carbine out and probing. Weiss hurriedly flicked through her HUD as she rose to her feet again, noting their position. "Let's go," she murmured tersely.

" _Lek._ " Her partner was at her side once more, the pair of Mandalorians moving forward quickly but cautiously. As they passed first an elevator, which Weiss gave a wordless glare at, and then another doorway, they paused as the sounds of running footsteps caught up to them.

Both armored women moved apart but were still taken by surprise when the door burst open. An orange-haired, white-armored figure collided with Weiss, the both of them going down in a tangle of clanking limbs and weaponry.

"Ooof, Nora, you  _utreekov_ , get off of me this instant!"

"Weiss! Pyrrha!" The Republic Trooper scrambled to her feet, enveloping the redheaded Mandalorian first in an enthusiastic hug before tackling Weiss as she regained her footing, almost knocking her back down again. "Didja see Yang yet? We split up, she's supposed to be-"

Weiss clamped a hand over the babbling woman's mouth. "Nora. Shush."

"Ohhhh, right," she mumbled around the armored gauntlet. "Covert."

The Echani woman sighed gently as she withdrew her hand. "We have not seen Yang as of yet. What about Jaune and Ren? And where's your helmet? Penny has us in comms now but we couldn't reach any of you."

Nora pulled her assault cannon out as they continued to walk forward, succinctly bringing the others up to date. Weiss blanched slightly at the mention of Ren's wound and wondered if her Jedi lover knew about his situation somehow.

And then that just got her worrying once again over the Cathar woman.

Before they had gone much further, though, the familiar sounds of lightsabers clashing were picked up by her audioreceptors. She held up a hand, halting their progression.

"Up ahead," she murmured. "I'll take a look first,  _lek?_ "

Both Nora and Pyrrha nodded solemnly, weapons at the ready as they backed her up. Another twenty meters or so around the bend they came to a partially-open set of double doors. The Echani woman took a quick peek before pulling back with a renewed sense of urgency.

"Yang and Blake," she reported tersely. "Pin down the tall  _Darjetii_  at the rear and I'll get Ruby."

" _Troch._ " Her redheaded partner gave her shoulder pauldron a thump with a gauntleted fist. " _K'oyacyi, vod._ "

" _K'oyacyi_ ," the Echani woman returned. And then she was off.

The pale-armored woman barged through the doors, blaster holstered, as she darted into the room. She paid no mind to the furious lightsaber battles she raced through, emerald green and amethyst blades clashing against crimson and orange-red ones. She also pushed out of her mind the perplexed curiosity as to how the  _shab_  Yang was in possession of a lightsaber, not to mention adroitly using it against a Sith, just as firmly as she shunted aside the relief over Blake's survival so far. Even if she had no idea how the Cathar woman had gotten ahead of her.

A rain of blaster fire from behind streaked across the chamber to pelt the bone-white-skinned woman who stood at the top of the steps. The obvious Sith Lord snarled and raised her hands, somehow managing to absorb the attacks with one while dishing out a burst of dark lightning at the sprinting Mandalorian warrior with the other.

Weiss came to an abrupt halt, dodging the attack, but her momentum had already been interrupted. With a growl, she drew her sidearm and added her fire to the others as she continued forward cautiously, wary of another attack that she'd not be able to adequately block.

The Sith ahead drew her lightsaber and ignited the brilliant red blade, utilizing it to bat away the increased firepower. Emboldened, Weiss started to dart forward again to where she could see her  _ad'ika_  secured against the wall when she came to yet another halt. Blake stumbled back into her path, falling gracelessly as she clutched at her side where a bacta patch could be seen oozing fresh blood.

The Mandalorian let out a growl as she switched objectives briefly, popping the nozzle on her flamethrower and firing off a blast at the raven-haired Sith who'd delivered a kick to her Jedi lover. The woman leapt back out of range, still in-between her and Ruby and too close to the slowly-recovering Blake for her comfort. Pale blue eyes narrowed behind her visor, she lifted her blaster pistol once again and fired off four shots.

All four overshot the Sith by a wide margin.

The raven-haired woman smirked at the armored warrior. "You missed," she sneered.

"Did I?" Weiss retorted.

The Sith whipped her head around to spy Ruby, released from the restraints by Weiss' precise shooting, scrambling down the staircase behind her and towards where Nora and Pyrrha stood. But before she could intercept the fleeing Corellian, Blake was back into action, assaulting with an almost primal ferocity.

Both objectives complete, Weiss fell back towards the group at the rear of the huge chamber. There was no question of leaving now, not when those responsible for all of this were present and within reach. The platinum-haired woman noted, as she slid back into position, shoulder-to-shoulder with her partner, that Nora had given the brunette her blaster pistol. Ruby was clutching it determinedly while keeping behind the row of armored women, sneaking in a shot or two at the opponents that her sister and their Cathar lover faced.

Weiss briefly reached back to grasp at the petite Corellian's shoulder, unable to verbalize just how relieved she was to have her back safe again. Fierce silver eyes looked her way as Ruby nodded in wordless gratitude. There'd be time for reunions later.

Right now, there were some  _Darjetiie_  who needed to be taught not to mess with her  _aliit_ , her family, ever again.

* * *

Yang felt energized by the knowledge that, not only had the rest of the group showed up but that Ruby, at least, was safe for now. She pushed that small part of her that always worried for her little sister towards the back of her mind, focusing more fully on the Sith warrior she was dueling.

The blonde pilot still wasn't sure what to make of what was happening with her, the burning in her eyes, the tingling feeling that traveled down her arms, the way she was able to almost instinctually move to intercept each and every strike Mercury sent her way, no matter how powerful or fueled by the anger and hatred flowing off of him in almost palatable waves. It was effortless, like someone or something was guiding her movements, but the Corellian woman was afraid if she lingered on it she'd lose her advantage.

So instead, she kept her head clear and her focus on the grey-haired Sith who was becoming increasingly frustrated with his inability to eviscerate the blonde smuggler.

He twisted slightly and then lunged forward. She batted the red blade aside before swiping at his head with a counter-stroke. He ducked that, aiming a strong kick at her midsection. That she managed to block as well, taking it on her cybernetic arm, but it staggered her nonetheless. Her brow furrowed as she could have sworn she'd heard an almost metallic  _clang_  at the contact, but she didn't have time to analyze it further.

Mercury was quick to follow-up with a rapid series of lightsaber strikes, seemingly from all angles. One actually glanced off of her prosthetic elbow, searing the edge and burning a hole in her favorite leather duster. In return, Yang slipped a pair of jabs in that glanced off of his armor, shredding his robes slightly.

The pair of them pulled back, eyes narrowed as they regarded each other.

"Should have killed you right at the start," Mercury growled as he shrugged his robe off, the smoldering dark garment pooling to the ground behind him. He was left in a light grey tunic and pants under his inky-black armor.

"Yeah," she smirked back, dropping her duster to the floor and leaving her in spacer cargoes and orange tank top. "You probably should have."

Snarling, the Sith batted aside a pair of blaster bolts sent from behind them before charging in. Yang braced herself, trusting in her new instincts. While she'd seen the way Blake and Ren fought, the both of them agile and quick, her impulse was to weather the assault on two steady feet like a bastion in the Force.

 _That's what this is, isn't it…?_  she mused to herself as her shoulder crashed into Mercury, repelling the charge. Red and green blades clashed once more, staggering the both of them from the intensity of the strikes.  _The Force, that's what I'm feeling, guiding me, almost like… Huh. Guess it's alive after all. Um, well… Thanks?_

_Wait, does that make me a Jedi now?_

Their faces mere centimeters apart as they struggled against one another for leverage, lightsabers and hands grappling fiercely, Yang let a slow, almost predatory grin creep across her face.

_Well, maybe I am, then. And that makes me qualified enuff to take care of this nerf-herder._

She leaned back slightly and raised her knee in an abrupt fashion. Mercury's eyes widened as she made contact with his groin, even armored as it was she'd managed to project enough force through the hit for him to feel it.

And then he let out a scream as her blade slipped past his defenses, scoring a painful cauterized gash across his right arm.

While he was momentarily disabled, Yang spun in place, her blonde mane of hair whipping around her like a tail as she took his head off.

She stood there, panting heavily, and watched her opponent's corpse crumple to the floor.

"Well, I'll be frizzed," she murmured wonderingly, feeling the power drain away. As it did, her once-again lilac eyes rolled into the back of her head as she dropped gracelessly to the ground, the lightsaber deactivating as it fell next to her unconscious form.

* * *

"Yang!"

Weiss whipped her head around at Ruby's shout. Both Mercury and Yang were on the floor, though the former looked to be so in a more permanent fashion as his head was lying a good meter beyond his body.

"Is she hurt?" the Echani questioned over the noise of continued blaster fire.

"No, I think she just passed out!" Ruby returned.

" _Lek…_ " Her HUD was lighting up with new targets as hidden doors to the rear of the room opened, filling the chamber with assault droids and Imperial troops. The Rattataki woman was moving back to shelter behind the newly-arrived reinforcements, her crimson eyes alight with hatred. "Pyrrha, with me. Nora, take out those  _aru'e_. Ruby, keep behind us,  _cyar'ika_ , and get ready to grab her."

" _Troch._ "

"You betcha!"

"Got it," Nora giggled darkly, dropping her cannon to the side as she pulled out her other major piece of weaponry. "Come on,  _Handske_ , let's introduce them to the party."

She let fly a rapid-fire barrage of grenades. Explosions littered the end of the room upon the raised platform, sending bodies and droid parts sailing out in all directions. The pair of Mandalorian women moved forward, Ruby keeping a steadying hand on her girlfriend's back as they neared Yang's position. It only took a few moments for them to crouch down and for the brunette to grab ahold of her sister under the arms, slipping the discarded lightsaber into her belt first. Then they moved back once more to where Nora was cackling with glee.

"She is having entirely too much fun," Weiss murmured over the shared circuit with her partner.

"Oh leave her be,  _vod_ ," Pyrrha giggled in return. "There are plenty more  _aru'e_  for us to play with as well."

"She concerns me, is all."

"Mmhmm. At least she hasn't tried to stab any of us."

"That was over a decade ago!" Weiss growled indignantly. "I was still learning! And you shouldn't have been standing so close to me, you  _utreekov!_ "

Pyrrha giggled once again. " _Udesiir, vod._ "

"Oh,  _nar'sheb_ ," she replied without any heat.

"Yes, dear."

* * *

Blake was trying to ignore the battle raging around her, insofar as it wasn't going to interrupt her duel. No, she had her hands full with the Sith woman from her past.

Orange-red blades whirled and flashed about, causing her to backflip out of the way again. Cinder was physically far less of a threat, physically, than Darth Tyrian or Darth Hazel had been, but with Blake already wounded it was more of a struggle than it should be. Indeed, the raven-haired woman took a particularly dark delight in hammering her wounds whenever possible.

Growling, the Cathar woman was determined to finish this before her injuries impaired her any further. She charged forward with atypical brute force, battering at the dual-bladed defense. In response, Cinder backflipped to land atop the stairs, smirking down at her as she held the high ground.

Her smirk was wiped off of her face as Blake followed close on her heels, and rather than obtaining a more defensible position, she was forced to fall back further. Both blade-wielders had to watch their footing as the ground there was pockmarked with small craters and littered with the remains of soldiers and droids. Several Imperial troopers were still there, sheltering behind the metallic husks of their non-sentient support from the volume of fire still coming from the intruders below.

As they danced about, Blake delivered a high kick to the side of Cinder's head, staggering her. The Jedi blademaster flipped backwards, using the Force to assist her, and slashed through the torsos of a pair of soldiers who were trying to get a heavy blaster cannon mounted on a tripod. She leapt forward once more, clashing blades furiously again with the Sith woman.

Cinder's blade seared past her face, close enough that a few strands of hair from her bangs were singed off. The Cathar woman knew she didn't have a lot of time left, with as heavily as she was drawing upon the Force to both hold the pain at bay and keep up with the darkside user.

The raven-haired human had changed considerably over the years, not for the better, obviously, but Blake had always been the better duellist. At least, until the other woman was given the advantage. And it was one she was all too willing to use.

Were she uninjured and rested, the Jedi Master would have seen the feint for what it was. Unfortunately, Blake responded to the thrust and was caught out of position.

A Force-assisted kick smashed into her bleeding side once again, but this time it was delivered with enough power to send her flying away before landing with a painful  _thud_ , curled up in agony.

All thoughts of defense fled from her mind. She could barely grasp the Force anymore, it was like trying to hold the sands of Tatooine in her hand. Panting hard, her ears plastered to her head much as her sweaty bangs were, she got to her knees, one arm wrapped protectively across her stomach while the other held her purple blade before her, the tip wavering slightly.

From several meters away, Cinder laughed mockingly as she idly twirled her lightsaber.

"Not so tough now, are you, Blake?" the raven-haired Sith sneered. "I've come a long way since-"

Her monologuing was cut off by an explosion at her feet. Robes tattered, her body was flung backwards and into the already-crumbling rear of the tower. As soon as she hit, the structure there collapsed in a cloud of dust and debris.

Blake was also flung away from the concussive blast of Nora's grenade, landing on her back with a pained grunt but otherwise uninjured further. She lay there, staring up at the ceiling while her ears flicked atop her head, trying to clear the dust from the hairs there.

Soon enough, though, her vision was filled with the delightful view of a grinning, silver-eyed brunette and a platinum-haired Echani beauty.

"You just gonna lie there all day, Blakey?" Ruby inquired humorously.

"Mmm." The Cathar smiled softly. "I was thinking about it. Especially if the two of you would join me down here."

"Come on,  _utreekov,_ " Weiss laughed, standing back up and offering a gauntleted hand. The other was occupied with her helmet, tucked under her arm. "Let's get our  _shebs_  back to the ship,  _lek?_ "

Blake accepted the help up, standing with a wince and swaying slightly as she clipped her lightsaber to her belt once more. "Did we account for them all?" she inquired with a breathy murmur.

Her brunette lover sighed as she slid into her uninjured side, draping the Jedi's arm across her shoulder. "Salem got away. That's the big bad lady. But sounds like we took care of everyone else."

" _Elek_ , and both Jaune and Ren are waiting for us near the hangar, keeping our route open," Weiss confirmed, tapping her helmet idly. "I've already let Coco know that they can prepare to break away. I don't know if she will or not, from the sounds of it they're having a rather  _kandosii_  time of things."

"Very well." Blake surveyed the remains of the battle. Nora and Pyrrha stood by the exit, weapons at the ready, while Yang leaned against the wall nearby as well, her shoulders hunched and head hung in exhaustion. But she looked uninjured, even if she were slowly rotating her cybernetic arm, wincing at the movement from her elbow.

She knew there was a conversation that needed to happen with the blonde woman, sooner rather than later. But for now… For now, they were all alive and victorious.

"Home, then?" the Cathar woman inquired softly as she limped along, drawing upon the Force to begin healing her wounds.

"Home sounds good to me," Ruby sighed with wholehearted agreement.

" _Lek_ ," Weiss murmured, offering them both a warm smile. "Let us return to our  _yaim_  and leave this place behind us."

"And then maybe to bed?" the brunette giggled mischievously while blushing nonetheless.

"Ruby!" their Mandalorian lover chided without any real heat, the tips of her ears pinkening. "She's been injured, how could you possibly think of-"

"Maybe, but I gotcha thinking about it now, too, right?"

"I… you… I don't…" Weiss sputtered incoherently for the span of their walk to the door. " _K'uur!_ " she finally exclaimed, the rest of her face flushed with embarrassment.

Blake grinned as she passed the others, all three of whom were shaking with silent laughter.

_Home. It's definitely time to return there with my loves._

_And Ruby and I can work on Weiss while on the way there regarding our impending rendezvous in the bedroom..._

* * *

_Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance):_  
 **Yang Xiao Long**  - Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, talented pilot, and droid tinkerer.  
 **ZW-31**  - Yang's custom astromech droid.  
 **Ruby Rose**  - Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, skilled mechanic, and gun nut.  
 **P3-NY**  - Ruby's astromech droid.  
 **Lady Salem**  - Rattataki female. Sith Lord and advisor to the Emperor.  
 **Lady Cinder Fall** \- Human female. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Darth Hazel**  - Sith Pureblood male. Sith Lord Warrior.  
 **Darth Tyrian**  - Zabrak male. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Emerald Sustrai** \- Twi'lek female. Sith Marauder.  
 **Mercury Black**  - Human male. Sith Warrior.  
 **Weiss Schnee**  - Echani female from Eshan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Pyrrha Nikos**  - Human female from Alderaan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Jaune Arc**  - Human male from Mandalore. Mandalorian bounty hunter trainee.  
 **Hei "Junior" Xiong**  - Human male from Tatooine. Gangster and information broker.  
 **Melanie Malachite**  - Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
 **Miltia Malachite**  - Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
 **Blake Belladonna**  - Half-Cathar female from Cathar. Jedi Master.  
 **Lie Ren**  - Mirialan male from Makeb. Jedi Apprentice to Master Belladonna.  
 **Master Ozpin**  - Human male from Coruscant. Jedi Master and Council Member.  
 **Nora Valkyrie**  - Human female from Ord Mantell. Republic Commando.  
 **Neptune Vasilias**  - Devaronian male from Nar Shaddaa. Migrant Merchants' Guild.  
 **Sun Wukong**  - Zabrak male from Nar Shaddaa. Grifter, middle-man, thief.  
 **Coco Adel**  - Human Female from Coruscant. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Fox Alistair**  - Miraluka Male from Nar Shaddaa. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Velvet Scarlatina**  - Mirialan Female from Nar Shaddaa. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Yatsuhashi Daichi**  - Human Male from Balmorra. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** Whew! So that's the action, then, all wrapped up. We have one final chapter to go where most things will be explained to the satisfaction of the readership (or not), and then an epilogue.
> 
> Stay shiny!


	21. Chapter 21

**Outbound from Mistral  
** _**Myrtenaster** _

Weiss leaned tiredly on the bridge holocommunications console, smiling wearily at the flickering figure there. Her helmet and gauntlets were back in the common area where the rest of her crew were. All that was left to do was to depart this accursed system for somewhere more familiar. Perhaps Nar Shaddaa, they seemed to end up there often enough.

Giving herself a shake as her mind had begun to wander, she offered the smirking woman a friendly nod. " _Ret'urcye mhi, ner vod_ ,  _bal_   _vor entye_."

Coco gave a hearty laugh in response. " _Ret'urcye mhi, ner vod_ ,  _bal_   _ba'gedet'ye_. That was one  _kandosii_  of a fight, let us know the next time you intend to invade an  _aruetii's_  planet, we'll be there."

The Echani glanced out the front viewport as the connection closed. With an elongated start, the Mandalorian cruiser next to hers entered hyperspace, likely en route to go beat up some pirates once more.

Noting carefully the proper coordinates for an uninhabited spot just outside the Empire, she pulled the levers down and sent their own ship back towards Republic space, the stars streaking past the viewport in long lines of white.  _And how odd is that, then, my finding haven in Republic-controlled territory?_

Sighing humorously, the Echani turned and headed back towards where the others waited. The common area was conspicuously quiet, each crewmember cuddled up into pairs for comfort after a long day.

Weiss gave her partner a knowing grin where she sat on Jaune's lap in one of the large chairs. Both of her Mandalorian  _vode_  had their armor removed and were unabashedly down to their undergarments, not that anyone else seemed to care. Yang was sprawled out on one of the couches, her legs splayed out in front of her while Nora, also out of armor but in a tank top and exercise shorts, rested her head on the blonde's shoulder.

Passing the pair of droids, and for once giving them both a friendly nod, she tiredly plopped herself down into the space at the end of the couch her lovers had left for her. Ruby immediately shifted so that she could lean against her side, Blake adjusting as well to maintain contact.

" _Troch_ , then," the platinum-haired Mandalorian began softly, drawing everyone's attention. "Nar Shaddaa work for everyone?"

Met with a chorus of assenting nods, she peered around the brunette to look at her Jedi girlfriend. " _Cyar'ika_ , how is Ren?"

"He's resting in the bacta tank," the raven-haired woman returned softly. "It will keep his arm stabilized until we can get him to a medical facility."

"At least I'm not in there for a change," Jaune grunted without rancor. "Spent entirely too much time swimming in that foul  _osik_."

"That may be true," Weiss interjected firmly. "But today you acted like a true  _Mando'ade_ ,  _vod._  In no way should you consider yourself a trainee any longer."

" _Kandosii,_ " he chuckled in return. "I'll stick around, though, if you don't mind."

" _Troch_ , not like I'm going to let you get away," Pyrrha added smugly.

"What about Ren?" Ruby spoke up. "Can we, like, reattach his hand or something?"

"Not from a lightsaber wound," her Jedi lover answered regretfully.

"Oh. Well, shavit."

"Don't worry about it, sis," Yang broke in, her head still back and eyes closed. "I know a karking good cybernetics guy on Nar Shaddaa, we'll get 'im fixed up nice and proper."

"Mmm." Blake nodded her thanks before sitting up straighter. "Yang, we should talk."

"Yeah, figured this was coming…"

"Before we do, though…" The Cathar woman turned her gaze upon the small black astromech droid nearby. "Zwei, cold one."

Obediently, ZW-31 opened the top port in his chassis, and with a  _chuff_ , deployed a frosty bottle of Corellian Ale. While Blake used the Force to pluck it out of the air, Yang sprang out of her seat incredulously, all traces of exhaustion gone.

"What the…" Yang sputtered. "How the frizz did you even know about that?"

Blake just smiled back serenely and gave the blonde a wink. "Jedi," she reminded her.

The Corellian pilot sat back down, grumbling irritably. "No reason to hijack my kriffing droid… that was the last of my bottles, too…"

"I'll restock you at the next port," Blake promised over the chuckling from the others. She sobered after taking a long pull from the bottle in her hands. "So… This prophecy, from what Ruby has related, involved the daughter of a Silver-Eyed Warrior, who I presume to be Summer Rose, Ruby's mother… But how in the Force were you the one the prophecy referred to?"

The two siblings glanced at each other and simultaneously shrugged. "We're sisters," the diminutive brunette stated as if that explained everything.

"But… are you not half-sisters?" Weiss inquired, her brow furrowed in confusion. "You certainly do not look alike, nor do you have the same last name…"

"Oh, that," Yang chuckled. "Nah, both of our parents were Summer and Tai, I just took more after dad while Ruby took after mom."

Ruby nodded in agreement. "Mom never married dad, they kept their last names… So I got mom's since I was more like her, and Yang got dad's."

"Well, I suppose that makes sense…" Weiss frowned.

"In any case," Blake interjected smoothly. "I'd like to discuss your future."

"Uh-huh." The blonde cocked her head to the side, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. "So, since I kinda got an idea what you're gonna say… Tell me this, first. Do I gotta wear robes?"

"Not if you do not desire to."

"What about staring at walls?"

"You mean meditation?"

"Yeah, that."

Blake nodded slightly with a smile. "Yes, that is typically a staple of training for a padawan."

"Right..." Yang gave a snort as she flopped back in the couch inelegantly. "So I don't get to be a Jedi right away, be all powerful and stuff?"

"No, Yang… I would take you on as a padawan, much as Ren is."

"Huh." Frowning slightly, the Corellian absent-mindedly rotated her artificial arm, wincing as the elbow caught slightly during the movement. "Do I get a lightsaber of my own?"

"One day, yes, when I feel you are ready."

"Alright, well… I guess I trust you, Blake, and at least you're not like a lotta other Jedi I've come across…" With a firm nod, Yang let her right arm fall into her lap as her left wrapped around Nora's shoulders again. "I guess I'll be your padawan, then."

"Aww, does that mean we've got to stop sleeping together?" Nora pouted.

"What? No!" Yang sat up once more, eyeing the grinning Cathar wildly. "Wait, that's not part of the deal, is it? I gotta abstain from sex as a padawan?"

"No, Yang, celibacy is not a requirement," Blake chuckled. "It would be a bit hypocritical of me to make such a rule, in any case."

"Now that we've settled that," Weiss broke in, leaning forward once more to look at the Cathar. "I would like to know something,  _cyar'ika_."

"Mmm?"

"How the  _shab_  did you get to the chamber ahead of me?"

"Oh, you mean at the top of the tower?" Blake regarded her Echani girlfriend with a serene smile. "The Force works in mysterious ways."

"The Force… works..." Weiss blinked her eyes before scowling in suspicion. "You found the elevator," she stated with flat accusation.

Blake grinned as she lifted the bottle of ale to her lips, merely giving the Mandalorian a wink. Said Mandalorian proceeded to grumble under her breath before she was smothered in kisses by a suddenly enthusiastic brunette.

"Not allowed to be grumpy," Ruby chirped. "I forbid it."

"Fine, fine," Weiss sighed, unable to stop the smile from appearing.

"Oh! I got one for Blake!" Nora broke in excitedly, raising her hand and bouncing in her seat. Yang was quick to snag her around the waist to pull her back into the couch again. "How'd you know that Sith lady?"

"Oh, yeah!" Ruby added, bouncing a bit herself before her girlfriends, ensconced on either side, pulled her down much as Yang had done with Nora. "When you got there, you knew her name! Did you know Cinder from before?"

"Mmm…" The Cathar Jedi nodded slowly, her eyes partly lidded in memory. "Cinder Fall… was a padawan on Tython around the same time I was."

"She… was a  _Jetii?_ " Pyrrha asked curiously.

"Not quite, at some point she… lost her way, I believe. A fallen Jedi, one I also knew, by the name of Adam Taurus seduced her to the Dark Side…" Blake sighed. "I helped Master Ozpin defeat them, along with a number of other Dark Jedis, and brought them to justice. Obviously, she managed to escape and make her way to the Empire…"

"Where she became a Sith," Ruby whispered. "Wow."

"Was this Adam guy her master?" Yang asked.

The Cathar Jedi shrugged. "He might have been, I wasn't privy to their background. If you don't mind, though, I feel as if that would be a story for another time."

The room fell silent once more for the span of perhaps a full minute before Blake glanced around curiously. "Were there any more questions?"

When there were none forthcoming, the raven-haired woman nodded decisively before rising from the couch. She turned and grasped the hands of her lovers, pulling them up as well with a chorus of surprised yelps.

"We shall see everyone at the next meal," Blake announced over her shoulder as she dragged the other two women towards Weiss' bunk. Though Ruby was giggling the entire way, the Echani woman just rolled her eyes.

"Now, Weiss, go easy on your little  _Jetii_ ," Pyrrha reminded her partner, eyes twinkling merrily. "She did just recover from her injuries."

" _K'uur_ , you!" the other woman replied to the teasing, though she was already out of sight.

"You know what?" Jaune laughed. He sat up abruptly, cradling the surprised redhead in his arms. "That sounds like one  _kandosii_  idea."

Giggling, Pyrrha wrapped her arms around the blond's neck and rested her head on his shoulder. The pair were soon out of sight down the same hallway the other women had gone, entering the redhead's adjacent room.

Yang and Nora eyed each other uncertainly.

"I am far too tired for that shavit," Nora declared.

"Oh, thank the Force," Yang laughed wearily. "I just want to sleep for a week."

Laughing, the orange-haired trooper hauled herself to her feet and planted a warm kiss on the blonde's lips. "Look me up when you wake," Nora grinned before sauntering off towards the bunks.

Yang laughed once again, shaking her head before her gaze rested upon the patiently-waiting droids. "Right, then… how about I get you fixed up some more, huh, buddy? Gotta take care of you before I take care of myself, right? At least until we can get some parts at Nar Shaddaa..."

ZW-31 tweeted his enthusiastic endorsement of that idea. His creator pushed off of the couch to her feet, coming over to give his round dome a gentle pat.

"All the damage you took, and the fridge unit still works, huh?" Yang chuckled in amusement. "Well, at least we got our priorities straight…"

Wheeling around in a tight circle, P3-NY informed them that she would gladly watch over the ship while everyone rested. She would ensure no calamity would befall them while in hyperspace.

Though ZW-31 merely beeped in fond exasperation, Yang crouched down and gave her sister's droid a light thump on her head. "Hey, you did real good today with everything, girl. Ruby's lucky to have you."

After watching the other pair depart for the repair room, leaving her alone in the common area, the tiny tan-colored droid spun in place before heading towards the bridge, quietly whistling to herself with a decidedly pleased undertone.

* * *

 _Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance):_  
 **Yang Xiao Long**  - Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, talented pilot, and droid tinkerer.  
 **ZW-31**  - Yang's custom astromech droid.  
 **Ruby Rose**  - Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, skilled mechanic, and gun nut.  
 **P3-NY**  - Ruby's astromech droid.  
 **Lady Salem**  - Rattataki female. Sith Lord and advisor to the Emperor.  
 **Lady Cinder Fall** \- Human female. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Darth Hazel**  - Sith Pureblood male. Sith Lord Warrior.  
 **Darth Tyrian**  - Zabrak male. Sith Lord Inquisitor.  
 **Emerald Sustrai** \- Twi'lek female. Sith Marauder.  
 **Mercury Black**  - Human male. Sith Warrior.  
 **Weiss Schnee**  - Echani female from Eshan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Pyrrha Nikos**  - Human female from Alderaan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Jaune Arc**  - Human male from Mandalore. Mandalorian bounty hunter trainee.  
 **Hei "Junior" Xiong**  - Human male from Tatooine. Gangster and information broker.  
 **Melanie Malachite**  - Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
 **Miltia Malachite**  - Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.  
 **Blake Belladonna**  - Half-Cathar female from Cathar. Jedi Master.  
 **Lie Ren**  - Mirialan male from Makeb. Jedi Apprentice to Master Belladonna.  
 **Master Ozpin**  - Human male from Coruscant. Jedi Master and Council Member.  
 **Nora Valkyrie**  - Human female from Ord Mantell. Republic Commando.  
 **Neptune Vasilias**  - Devaronian male from Nar Shaddaa. Migrant Merchants' Guild.  
 **Sun Wukong**  - Zabrak male from Nar Shaddaa. Grifter, middle-man, thief.  
 **Coco Adel**  - Human Female from Coruscant. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Fox Alistair**  - Miraluka Male from Nar Shaddaa. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Velvet Scarlatina**  - Mirialan Female from Nar Shaddaa. Mandalorian bounty hunter.  
 **Yatsuhashi Daichi**  - Human Male from Balmorra. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** The end… or is it? Maybe you should wait until after the credits have rolled…
> 
> Originally I was going to post these in one-week intervals, but then I realized how difficult that would be with me starting the new job on Monday. Free time will be at a premium. And also, **Crescent Sunrise** is very persuasive, so make sure to thank them as well.
> 
> Stay shiny!


	22. Chapter 22

**EPILOGUE**

**Outbound from Nar Shaddaa  
** _**Myrtenaster** _

"Breathe."

Yang's brow twitched irritably at the soft-spoken word.  _What d'you think I've been doing?_

"Focus on your breathing, on your heartbeat. And stop thinking this is a waste of time."

A scowl flickered briefly across the blonde's face, but she quickly wiped it away with a sigh. She knew this was necessary, but vape it all, she was a girl of action, not one to sit in a dark, stifling room with two other people who just  _reeked_  of serenity in a way she'd never be able to!

"You can so do this."

"Blake, I swear, I'm gonna-" The Corellian had barely started into her rant before she was cut off by a gentle clearing of a throat. She ducked her head at the reminder from her now fellow padawan. "Sorry, Master. I did it again."

The Jedi Master sighed wryly. "Yang, I know this is difficult. By this age you would have been doing this naturally for over half of your lifetime were you brought into the order at the normal age. But I know you can do this." From where she knelt in front of the two figures, one bright and blonde, the other dark and green-skinned, Blake leaned forward to touch the knee of her newest pupil. "I have to believe this is possible, believe it with every fibre of my being, otherwise that would validate the methods of the Council. And I refuse to consider that to be a possibility. So you  _will_  master this."

"Yes, Master."

At her right elbow, the Mirialan man spoke up softly. "Managing your temper is never an easy task, but we are here to help you."

Yang let out an amused snort at that. "Pfft, yeah, like you've ever lost your temper before."

Sending an amused glance her way, Ren refused to answer, merely settling back into the familiar meditative pose once again. His hands were clasped in his lap, the left one a dull obsidian color. He'd refused to wear gloves to cover up the prosthetic, insisting he was beyond such vanity.

The blonde wasn't about to voice her opinion that perhaps he was secretly a bit proud of his battle-won impairment.

"Alright, let's try this again," Yang grumbled, getting herself into the same position as Ren. Eyes closed, back erect. Posture firm but relaxed. Breathe in, breathe out.

The Corellian padawan and pilot could sense it, just outside of her consciousness, that power that she'd felt when dueling Mercury. The problem was, she needed control over it, to be able to touch it willingly and embrace it.

It was just so kriffing  _frustrating_  to feel it so close and yet be unable to reach her goal. However, she was nothing if not persistent.

But then, intruding upon their meditations, a pair of raised voices from the nearby common area could be heard, easily carrying through the thin-hulled door.

"What did you do this time?"

"It's just the computer voice system, Weiss, nothing major!"

"You changed its voice!"

"Well, yeah, and besides,  _Myrtenaster_  is a 'she'."

"It's a ship! My ship!"

"And she wants to be treated with respect, Penny told me so!"

Weiss' tone, if it were possible, became more shrill. "I am not taking the word of your droid regarding my ship! I want the voice modulator disabled again, I do not like it being able to talk to me!"

"Weiss, she can hear you, you're gonna hurt her feelings!"

"Ruby, so help me, you will put things back the way they were or I'll…"

Blake let out a heavy sigh as she gracefully unfolded herself from her seated position and rose to her feet. "Carry on," she instructed shortly before departing the room and closing the door behind her.

Only a handful of seconds passed before another door could be heard to open with a pneumatic  _hiss_ , and then dual squawks of outrage along with a clatter of armor.

Nora spoke up, obviously having been observing the free show. Her mouth sounded slightly full as if she were chewing on some popcorn, though it did nothing to conceal the incredulous amusement in her voice. "Again?!"

And then Blake could be heard before joining her two lovers in the storage closet. "We'll just be awhile in conference."

Yang snorted humorously, keeping her hands closed and posture erect. "Maybe she needs to teach the both of them how to meditate."

Ren allowed a quiet chuckle to escape. "Oh, I imagine she has far better uses of their free time together."

Laughing outright now, Yang extended her right fist. It was met with a  _clank_  by Ren's left before they returned to silence once again.

It'd likely be while before they saw their master again, but that was no reason to slack off, after all.

**Dromund Kaas  
** **Sith Empire Capital**

These were familiar halls to the dark-robed figure, gliding along with nary a sound. She'd prowled them for decades as she fought her way up the hierarchy of Sith Lords, conspiring and plotting and betraying as was their wont.

Today, however, things were different.

Those who once would have fearfully looked away or shied back from her dark presence now stared openly. Where before she commanded respect, now she was met by looks of derision.

Lady Salem had fallen into disgrace. For now, at least.

A woman of her cunning and intellect rarely stayed down for long. So long as she passed her next trial, she would recover once more. It would be another long, laborious climb, but she was powerful still.

The Rattataki woman entered the elevators without acknowledging her lessers, the doors sliding shut on their own as it immediately began its ascent. Soon enough, they slid open again to reveal the audience chamber where her master waited.

She pushed back her trepidation as she saw the black-robed figure standing with his back to her at the top of the dais, staring out at the Dromund Kaas cityscape instead of waiting for her at his throne as he always did. Fear was not the emotion she needed right now, her arrogance and anger would serve as always.

Waiting until she reached the bottom step, the pale woman finally spoke up as she pulled the hood of her robes back. "My Lord-"

Before she could continue, however, she was forced to her hands and knees by an overwhelming force, an oppressive dark power that left her gasping for air. It was if the very life was being crushed out of her, the Dark Side being siphoned away against her will, leaving her defenseless.

The figure at the top turned, then, and slowly made his way down the tall steps. The shadows in the dimly-lit room seemed to gather around him in a foreboding miasma, swirling with the power that he radiated from his very fingertips.

Salem was utterly helpless before such power. The power of the Emperor.

The power of a god.

And though his withered lips did not move, his voice boomed maliciously inside her head nonetheless.

" _I ALREADY KNOW OF YOUR FAILURE AND THE LOSS OF YOUR FOLLOWERS._ "

Salem whimpered, her eyes bulging out of her head as she stared at the steadily growing pool of brackish blood dribbling down from her nostrils and ears.

" _DID YOU NOT THINK I WOULD LEARN OF YOUR BETRAYAL? OF HOW YOU LEFT MY FAITHFUL SERVANTS BEHIND TO DIE?"_

With an anguished grunt, the Rattataki woman fell onto her side, writhing in pain now as she felt her very bones creaking under the strain.

" _I WANTED THE DAUGHTER OF THE SILVER-EYED WARRIOR DEAD, AND YOU KNEW THIS. BUT EVENTS ARE NOW SET INTO MOTION. AND YOU MUST PAY THE PRICE._ "

Spikes of agony were shooting along every nerve ending. Her mouth opened into a rictus of a scream but no sound could issue forth. And then, with one final sharp  _snap_ , her huddled figure stilled forever.

Finally, the Emperor spoke out loud, his voice that of rusty pipes but no less commanding.

"Your betrayal has created a power vacuum that I must now fill before the infighting begins anew." His slow steps finally carried him past her corpse. "I am very disappointed in you, Salem."

He stopped, then, just outside the growing pool of dark blood, to gesture towards one of the shadowy corners. Red, glowing eyes were visible before a blue-skinned male stepped out. The Chiss had a trimmed mop of black hair set above his malevolent gaze, and his bushy moustache twitched as he regarded the fallen Sith Lord on the floor behind the Emperor.

The man's clothes were incongruous for a Sith Lord, a fashionable black suit instead of the typical robes, but the hilt of a lightsaber was nonetheless evident from beneath the hem of his short jacket. It made his status obvious to all who did not know of him.

As he gave a low, respectful bow, the Emperor nodded to him.

"Dr. Watts, I am very interested in your experiments with the Dark Side and genetic manipulation, the biowarfare subjects you've created are fascinating. Tell me more about these… Creatures of Grimm."

* * *

The crew of the  _Myrtenaster_  will return in  _RWBY Star Wars: Momentum!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** Chiss Dr. Watts courtesy of **AntonSlavik020** , thanks for the brilliant idea! And so that closes out our tale for now. As can be seen on my FFN author's page, I do have extensive plans for this universe. I think I might tackle at least one of the prequels before I start in on the next major story, though for now, I'll be giving Blood of the Rose a little more attention for a while. Thanks for reading and reviewing!
> 
> Stay shiny!


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